| Head: |
Prof. Dr. Stefan Halle |
|
Address: |
Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena Institute of Ecology Dornburger Str. 159 D - 07743 Jena, GERMAY |
| Phone: | +49 (0)3641 949401 |
| Tel: | +49 (0)3641 949402 |
Our field of research is behavioural and evolutionary ecology, population dynamics, and landscape ecology, for which we use small mammals, and arvicoline rodents in particular, as model systems. A main focus is the new field of "chronoecology", i.e. the ecological relevance of diel activity patterns for predator-prey-interactions, interspecific competition (the temporal niche concept), and intraspecific social organisation of populations. Most projects are in the field of basic ecology, for which experimental field work on the population level is combined with computer modelling (individual based models, game theory models) and new statistical approaches (neutral models, resampling techniques). To some extent applied issues are addressed as well.
We closely co-operate with groups in Fennoscandia (Jyväskylä/Finland, Umeĺ/Sweden, Oslo/Norway) where we also do experimental work in the field and in large enclosures. The main issues at the moment are predator-prey interaction (chemical communication and the breeding suppression hypothesis) and the establishing rate of dispersers. Some of the projects are related to the still unknown driving mechanism behind the 3-5 year population cycles in voles and lemmings, and to the effect of habitat structure on behaviour.
Employed methods are live trapping with individual marking (CMR, PIT marking), radio tracking (probe antenna technique) and automatic activity recording (passage counters). Since summer 2000 our experiments are mainly conducted at the Remderoda field station close to Jena, consisting of six vole-proof enclosures of 50 x 50 m each, a field laboratory, and quarters for students during the field season. A focus of the Remderoda experiments is the manipulation of habitat and population structure to study the effects on behaviour and population dynamics of the common vole (Microtus arvalis), which is our main model organism.
Members Projects Finished Theses of the Last 5 Years Publications Co-operations
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