The biodiversity modelling lab

I am fascinated by the question why species and individuals are where they are, how they get there and how they manage to sustain. This is central to understanding how they will respond to changes in their abiotic and biotic environment, for example due to climate change.

In my team, we tackle research questions across several spatial and temporal scales. For example, we study drivers of broad-scale species distributions, of population dynamics as well as individual fitness, and their interplay with inter- and intraspecific interactions and life-history trade-offs. Modelling and data integration is a major part of our work, and we dedicate a lot of time to testing and improving existing methods for biodiversity modelling.

For opportunities to join the lab, please have a look here.

Lab head:

• Damaris Zurell (PhD) - Associate Professor for Ecology/Macroecology at University of Potsdam (tenure track)

Postdocs:

• 2018-2020 - Patrice Descombes (PhD) - SPEEDMIND project, Improving biodiversity analyses and citizen science feedback through data mining approaches. Based at WSL with Niklaus E Zimmermann

• 2018-2021 - Guillermo Fandos Guzman (PhD) - BIOPIC project, work package “Understanding how life history and environment shape dispersal in birds”

• 2019-2021 - Christian König (PhD) - BIOPIC project, work package “Understanding how biotic interactions shape species’ niches”

• 2020-2022- Juliane Wolter (PhD) - Individual postdoc project, paleoecology, effects of Arctic vegetation changes on carbon dynamics

PhD students:

• 2018-2021 - Anne-Kathleen Malchow (M.Sc.) - BIOPIC project, PhD thesis “Understanding how life history and demography shape species’ niches”

Research assistants:

• 2020-2021 - Simon Kapitza (M.Sc.) - data base management, biodiversity assessments, socio-economic modelling

Master students:

• 2019-2020 - Mingjian Xiahou - HU Berlin, Master thesis “Effects of spatial autocorrelation on dynamic occupancy models: Estimating birds range dynamics over a 14-year time period in Switzerland”, co-supervised by Dr. Christian König

Alumni:

• please find a list of former lab members here.

You can find a full list of my publications here.

My ResearcherID is E-2439-2012. You can also find me on ResearchGate and GoogleScholar.

Teaching materials for practicals:

• Block course Species distribution modelling
• Practicals for MSc module Global change impacts on biodiversity
• Short course Introduction to the RangeshiftR package
• Short (half-day) course Introduction to species distribution modelling in R

Teaching experience:

• Coordinator of MSc module “Macroecology and global change”, Univ. Potsdam, since 2020
• Lecturer MSc module “Scientific writing”, HU Berlin, winter semester 2019
• Coordinator of MSc module “Global change impacts on biodiversity”, HU Berlin, winter semesters 2018 and 2019
• Co-advisor in course “Spatial modelling: From climate & land use change to biodiversity conservation”, ETH Zürich, autumn semesters 2016 and 2017
• Lecturer within block course “Macroecology, niche evolution and climate change”, University of Zurich, autumn semester 2014
• Visiting lecturer for block course “Introduction to data analysis in R for geographers”, University of Tübingen, winter semester 2012-2013
• Co-advisor in block course “Advanced ecological modelling”, University of Potsdam, winter semester 2012
• Co-advisor in block course “Introduction to ecological modelling”, University of Potsdam, summer semester 2011
• Lecturer for seminar “Simulation methods in Hydrology and Geoecology”, University of Potsdam, winter semester 2008
• Lecturer for seminar “Landscape Ecology”, University of Potsdam, summer semester 2007

You can download some of my codes from my github site.

Latest software developments in my team include:

• an R package for the RangeShifter platform. More info under https://rangeshifter.github.io
• a Shiny web app introducing and facilitating the usage of the ODMAP protocol for reporting SDM. Check out here: odmap.wsl.ch

• damaris.zurell@uni-potsdam.de
• +49 331 977 1910
• Postal address: Universität Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais 10, D-14469 Potsdam, Germany || Office address: Maulbeerallee 3, D-14469 Potsdam, Room 0.12