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Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology

Dr. Alice Claßen

Prof. Dr. Alice Claßen

Animal Ecology Group, BIOM
Faculty 2 Biology/ Chemistry
University of Bremen
James-Watt-Straße 1
28359 Bremen
Phone: +49 421 - 2186 3478
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7813-8806
Classen

  • Ecological and evolutionary forces shaping the functional and phylogenetic diversity of insects along elevational gradients
  • macroecology
  • tropical plant-pollinator interaction networks
  • Ecosystem service capacity of pollinators

Ongoing research projects

beta4: Enhancing the structural diversity between patches for improving multidiversity and multifunctionality in production forests (FOR5375:). SP6: Plant-Animal Interactions - pollination, parasitism and seed dispersal (PI, together with Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter & Heike Feldhaar)

Alice Claßen (PI), Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter (PI), Clàudia Massó (PhD), Markus Meißner (Master), Annika Klein (Master), Anjelica Scherer (Bachelor)

 

ADaptation of Alpine Pollinators in Times of Global Change (ADAPT)

Junior research group in the Bavarian climate research network ("Bayerischen Klimaforschungsnetzwerk (bayklif)")

 https://www.bayklif.de/juniorgruppen/adapt/

Alice Claßen (PI), Anne Fabienne Maihoff (PhD), Janika Kerner (PhD)

 

Alumni

Kristof Brenzinger (Postdoc)

Nikki Sauer (Master student)

Peter Väth (TA)

Manuel Kuhn (Bachelor student)

Simon Schoger (Bachelor student)

Lukas Bofinger (Master student)

Irina Schemm (Bachelor student)

Elisa Treffehn (Bachelor student)

Simone Sahler (Bachelor student)

Katharina Kallnik (TA)

 

The research group ADAPT

ADAPT investigates how pollinators respond to climatic changes. We explore this at different levels of biological organization, i.e. from a molecular level up to the communtiy level.

Our main research questions are:

(1) How did pollinator communities in the national park Berchtesgaden change along elevational gradients within the last 10 years?

(2) Do pollinators that strongly respond to climatic changes share certain traits?

(3) How do bumblebee colonies perform in different climate and how do they respond to a climatic changes?

(4) What is the molecular basis of thermal adaptation in Bombus lucorum?

(5) How does land use impact the adaptation capacity of pollinator species?

 

Kilimanjaro Project SP7: Effects of climate und land use change on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning of pollinators and decomposers

Alice Claßen, Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter

  • Acceptance of a W2 Professorship in Animal Ecology at the University of Bremen, starting January 1, 2025.
  • 2018- 2023 Leader of the junior research group "ADaptation of Alpine Pollinators in Times of global change" (ADAPT). University of Würzburg, Germany. 
  • 2015 - 2017 Postdoc at the University of Würzburg, Germany. Project: KiLi Sub Project 7: Effects of climate und land use change on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning of pollinators and decomposers
  • 2015: 6 months full-time partental leave (back in part time position) 
     
  • 2010-2014 PhD student at the University of Würzburg, Germany. Project: KiLi Sub Project 7: Effects of climate und land use change on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning of pollinators and decomposers
     
  • 2009 Diploma thesis in the population genetics group of the Dep. of Entomology, Max-Planck-Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena (Germany). Subject: “On the trail of evolution: Which factors cause intraspecific variation in the sex pheromone of heliothine moths?”
     
  • 2008 field research on heliothine moths in North Carolina State University, Dept. Entomology, 3107 Gardner Hall, Raleigh, NC.
     
  • 2007 voluntary work in the cloud and rain forest of South America, Jatun Sacha Foundation, Ecuador.
     
  • 2004-09 Studies in Biology (majored in ecology) at the Free University of Berlin, Germany.

Peters MK, Hemp A, Appelhans T, Behler C, Classen A, Detsch F, Ensslin A, Ferger SW, Frederiksen SB, Gebert F, Haas M, Helbig-Bonitz M, Hemp C, Kindeketa WJ, Mwangomo E, Ngereza C, Otte I, Röder J, Rutten G, Schellenberger Costa D, Tardanico J, Zancolli G, Deckert J, Eardley CD, Peters RS, Rödel M-O, Schleuning M, Ssymank A, Kakengi V, Zhang J, Böhning-Gaese K, Brandl R, Kalko EKV, Kleyer M, Nauss T, Tschapka M, Fischer M, Steffan-Dewenter I (2016). Predictors of elevational biodiversity gradients change from single taxa to the multi-taxa community level. Nature Communications 7: 13736. 

Classen A, Peters MK, Kindeketa WJ, Appelhans T, Eardley C, Gikungu MW, Hemp A, Nauss T, and Steffan-Dewenter I (2015) Temperature versus resource constraints: which factors determine bee diversity on Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania? Global Ecology and Biogeography 24: 642-652. 

Classen A, Peters MK, Ferger SW, Helbig-Bonitz M, Schmack JM, Maassen G, Schleuning M, Kalko EKV, Böhning-Gaese K, and Steffan-Dewenter I (2014). Complementary ecosystem services provided by pest predators and pollinators increase quanitity and quality of coffee yields. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 281: 20133148.

Groot AT, Schöfl G, Inglis O,Donnerhacke S, Classen A, Schmalz A, Santangelo RG, Emerson J, Gould F, Schal C, and Heckel DG (2014). Within-population variability in a moth sex phermone blend: genetic basis and behavioural consequences. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 281: 20133054.

Groot AT,  Classen A, Inglis O, Blanco CA,  Lopez J Jr, Vargas AT, Schal C, Heckel DG and Schoefl G (2011). Genetic differentiation across North America in the generalist moth Heliothis virescens and the specialist H. subflexa. Molecular Ecology 20: 2676-2692.

Groot AT, Classen A, Staudacher H, Schal C, and Heckel DG (2010). Phenotypic plasticity in sexual communication signal of a noctuid moth. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 23: 2731-2738.

Groot AT, Blanco CA, Classen A, Inglis O, Santangelo RG, Lopez J Jr, Heckel DG and Schal C (2010). Variation in Sexual Communication of the Tobacco Budworm, Heliothis virescens. Southwestern Entomologist 35: 367-372.