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Department of Biology

Photo: UHH/Fründ

Animal Network Ecology

Final Theses

We in the Lab Network Ecology are open to supervise Bachelor’s and Master’s theses on topics from our research profile. Even if there are no specific topic suggestions listed below, please feel free to reach out to us if you are interested in particular topics, aspects, or questions! A solid foundational knowledge of insects/arthropods, native plants, and data analysis is helpful for most projects in the Lab. For both the listed suggestions and 'free' topics, specific questions and plans will be developed together.

Current topic suggestions:

Competition between honeybees and wild bees

How significant is the potential for a negative competitive effect of honeybees on wild bees in selected areas of Hamburg? How does this vary throughout the year, for example, depending on the flowering periods of important urban trees? Which wild bee species are particularly threatened by competition?

  • Methods: Various projects are possible, including fieldwork (flower observations, experimental manipulations on flowers, nesting site observations potentially with cameras, etc.), microscopic pollen analysis of honeybees and wild bees, identification work using a binocular microscope, data analysis, and computer simulations, combined in various ways.
  • Suitable as: MSc thesis, possibly BSc thesis 

(Focus of the projects likely in the summer semester 2025)

Insects, spiders, and interactions on the flowering meadow in the Loki-Schmidt Garden

  • Temporal development of insect and spider communities and interaction networks
  • Influence of mowing events, comparison of mowing regimes, and resulting differences in vegetation structure, plant composition, and flowering availability
  • Comparisons of the first year (samples/data already available) after establishment with later years, or comparisons within a single year
  • Methods: Arthropod monitoring using standard methods (flower observations, sweep netting, ground traps); identification by sight, using photos, and with a binocular microscope; scope/depth of data analysis can be tailored flexibly
  • Suitable as: MSc thesis, possibly BSc thesis

(Focus of the projects likely in the summer semester 2025)

Significance of insects with aquatic larvae for linking aquatic and terrestrial networks, pollination in and around water bodies

*Details coming soon

Effects of tree species diversity on herbivorous insects, predatory arthropods, and their interactions

*Details coming soon