+++ NEWS +++
2023-05-22: Our paper Facing the infinity: tackling large samples of challenging Chironomidae (Diptera) with an integrative approach led by Caroline Chimeno and Viktor Baranov is now published in PeerJ. In it we tackle the challenge of identifying huge amounts of megadiverse insects (i.e. Chironomids) from large bulk samples from our light pollution field sites with a combination of classic morphological ID and metabarcoding. +++ 2023-03-10: Empirical evidence of type III functional responses and why it remains rare, a Mini Review that I wrote together with Björn Rall, Stella Uiterwaal and Wojciech Uszko, is now published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. +++ 2022-01-27: A Global Agenda for Advancing Freshwater Biodiversity Research led by Alain Maasri and Sonja Jähnig has been published as a Viewpoint in Ecology Letters. In it we summarize the results of an online survey among ~100 experts on freshwater biodiversity. The Viewpoint was also featured on the cover of the February 2022 issue! +++ 2021-12-14: Our method paper Towards Insect-Friendly Road Lighting—A Transdisciplinary Multi-Stakeholder Approach Involving Citizen Scientists led by Sibylle Schroer is now published in Insects. +++ 2021-12-08: Our review 11 Pressing Research Questions on How Light Pollution Affects Biodiversity has been published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. The manuscript was developed after a topical session on light pollution at the World Biodiversity Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in February 2020 and led by Franz Hölker and Eva Knop.
+++ NEWS +++
My name is Gregor Kalinkat and I study animals and how they interact with each other, with the environment, and last not least, with us humans (and vice versa). During my PhD I started out as animal ecologist aiming to connect theoretical and empirical approaches with a particular focus on predator-prey interactions and food webs. Over the years since my interests have diversified to include a broad range of topics and today I consider myself also as conservation biologist and biodiversity scientist. In my current position I'm a research scientist in the project AuBe (Artenschutz durch umweltverträgliche Beleuchtung translated as species protection through environment-friendly illumination). There we are trying to implement new lighting technologies and monitor responses of insect communities in different parts of Germany. Check out our project website to learn more.
If you wonder what we scientists actually mean when we say "ecology" you should start here. If you already know about the science of ecology and wonder where exactly my interests within this field are you should check out the research and publication pages.
Despite having been affiliated with freshwater focused research institutes over the last couple of years (particularly Leibniz IGB Berlin, DE, and Eawag Kastanienbaum, CH) I am not bound to a particular habitat when studying ecology, as you can see on the pictures below:
Sampling benthic invertebrates in the Mediterranean (photo by Doro Sandmann, ca. 2004).
Sampling soil organisms in the Swabian Alb (photo by Roswitha Ehnes, ca. 2009).
Deploying a temperature logger in an artificially heated stream (photo by Juliane Lukas, ca. 2016).
DE: Hinweis für Besucher, die Texte in deutscher Sprache suchen: Eine zweisprachige Webseite ist für die Zukunft geplant. Zum Einstieg gibt es hier eine Kolumne, die ich zusammen mit Susan Mücke für Krautreporter verfasst habe. Ausserdem kann ich einen Radiobeitrag über unsere Forschung zu Neozoen im Gillbach im Rheinland verlinken (aus 2017) sowie einen Radiobeitrag über eine Publikation zu charismatischen Neobiota (aus 2020). Ganz aktuell gibt es hier noch ein Interview zu Insekten und Lichtverschmutzung.
last update: 2023-05-22