Ant passionate PhD student @unibayreuth.bsky.social | Working with red wood ants and their myrmecophiles throughout Europe as part of the @monitant.bsky.social project 🐜🌳
Melvin Opolka
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Scientists have named a newly identified species of wasp after David Attenborough to honor the legendary naturalist and broadcaster’s 100th birthday. https://cnn.it/4wfsAkg
Great to see these results finally published! Data Blanca (@bioivanezb.bsky.social) and I collected during my master’s research in Peruvian cacao agroforestry systems, where you can learn more about the favorite food of leafcutter ants and how herbivory damage strongly depends on distance! 🐜
This ant species is Pseudomyrmex boopis, which should be pronounced "BOOOOOOOP-is!" while bopping someone's nose, but taxonomists tell me to sit down and stop giggling and say "boo-OH-piss" like a grownup. So pronounce it however you want, I guess.
During our trip to the Bavarian Forest, we found some really nice nests of Coptoformica exsecta, where I was finally able to try out my new diffuser. It was difficult to get even a single worker in focus, as they were moving so quickly.
There are still a few days left to apply for this Post-Doc in York, working on 'Engineering Ecosystem Resilience' using wood ants, drones and metabolomics! 🐜 🔬 🧪 🌲 🐜
We are hiring! Interested in doing a PhD and excited about forest management, ecosystem services, simulation modeling and beta diversity? Come work with us @edfm-tum.bsky.social at @tum.de, full job ad here: cloud.edfm.ls.tum.de/index.php/s/...
#Biodiversität #Artenvielfalt
Melvin Opolka
CNN
Two weeks ago, we had our MonitAnt workshop with all project partners in the beautiful Bavarian Forest National Park. We even managed a short field trip, where everyone enjoyed being surrounded by wood ants and their myrmecophiles (see picture). 😉
Melvin Opolka
Alex Wild
Rupert Seidl
Ant-myrmecophile interaction: Formica sanguinea and the food begging rove beetle Dinarda dentata
New paper on metacommunity dynamics out! 📃🍁 Led by Oliver Mitesser we show that habitat heterogeneity shifts communities from patch-dynamics toward mass effects and species sorting using beetles as focal taxon. 🐞😍
@betafor.bsky.social @cofeuniwue.bsky.social
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Elva Robinson
MonitAnt
Metacommunity theory has expanded our understanding of how spatial dynamics and local interactions influence species communities, but we lack empirical studies specifically in terrestrial habitats te...
Interested in ant ecology? Have molecular and bioinformatics experience? Come and join the team! 18-month post-doc position at University of York now live: jobs.york.ac.uk/vacancy/post...
Elva Robinson
Ant trouble in cacao forests? 🐜 Researchers from @ecoresearchzoo3.bsky.social found a way to protect crops in Peru. Turns out, leaf-cutter ants prefer papaya over cacao! 🥭 Smart intercropping saves the harvest #Agroforestry #Sustainability 📷 Melvin Opolka ➡️ go.uniwue.de/leaf-cutter-...
