ComBee - interactions of the landscape structure and combined agri-environmental measures on the diversity, population development and health status of wild and honeybees
I am interested in biodiversity, interactions between plant-pollinator interactions as well as ecosystem functions and ecosystem services.The scientific goal of my PhD research, which is part of the ComBee project, is to investigate the direct and indirect interactions of the main causes of pollinator insect losses identified in the literature (i.e. land use change, bee diseases). In particular, the focus is on the interactions between different agri-environmental measures and landscape structure, as well as their effects on pollinator species communities, population development of wild and managed bees, resource use and trophic interactions between plants, pollinators, pathogens and counterparts.
Before starting my PhD, I studied biology with a focus on biodiversity and ecology at the University of Ulm. In my master thesis I investigated the variation of floral scent in two O. leochroma populations, which is a species of the O. tenthredinifera complex that is pollinated by males of the long-horned bee Eucera kullenbergi, with the aim to find out if there is a spatial and or temporal variation in floral scent – shaped by pollinator-mediated selection.
Website: http://kathrinczechofsky.weebly.com/