Prof. Dr. Anselm Kratochwil
Former head of the Ecology division
I am interested in various areas of biodiversity research (animals, plants, biocoenoses). Currently, I am primarily concerned with the systematics and taxonomy of sand bees (Micrandrena, Suandrena), the wild bee fauna of the Madeira Archipelago and the Canary Islands (endemism, flower visits, habitat preferences, dispersal), the interactions between plants and insects (flower visitor networks), and insect teratology (morphological malformations). Other areas of research include vegetation and renaturation ecology.
Research topics
- New descriptions and revisions of taxa of the sand bee genus Andrena
- Island biogeography (Canary Islands, Madeira Archipelago)
- Flowering plant-insect networks
- Gynander, colour dimorphisms (wild bees, butterflies)
Model systems
- Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera
- Higher plants, plant communities
Methods
- Field studies
- Morphological analyses, morphometry
- Multivariate statistical methods
- DNA barcoding
Selected publications
- Kratochwil A, Schwabe A, Paxton R, Aguiar A, Husemann M (2021): Morphological and genetic data suggest a complex pattern of inter-island colonisation and differentiation for wild bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila: Andrena) on the Macaronesian Islands. Organisms Diversity & Evolution..
- Kratochwil A (2021): Taxonomic re-evaluation of Andrena cyanomicans Pérez, 1895, A. fratella Warncke, 1968, A. maderensis Warncke, 1969, A. mirna Warncke, 1969, A. notata Warncke, 1968, and A. portosanctana Warncke, 1969 (Hymenoptera, Anthophila). Linzer biol Beitr 53 (2), 631-698.
- Schleuning M et al. (2016): Mutualistic networks are more sensitive to plant than to animal loss under climate change. Nat Commun 7, 13965.
