Department of Conservation Biology

Working group - Conservation Oriented Population Ecology - COPE

The unprecedented expansion of human activities across the globe leads to an ever-increasing loss of natural habitats, their fragmentation and degradation. In addition, overexploitation of natural resources contributes to the destabilization of ecosystems and climate change is putting every ecosystem under stress. Together, these anthropogenic pressures threaten biodiversity in general and not every species can easily cope with them; only through great effort and by means of appropriate measures can the decline in biodiversity be halted. However, for the application of such measures, many factors influencing species survival under habitat loss, overexploitation and climate change need to be considered simultaneously. These include environmental factors, spatio-temporal stochasticity, and biological factors such as species mobility, evolutionary potential and population parameters. interact with these anthropogenic drives. Advancing the protection of species in changing landscapes therefore requires a better understanding of animal-landscape interactions taking place at the individual, population and community levels and how they scale up.
Population ecology
One of the WG's fields of work is the analysis of different land use strategies and their effects on the population dynamics of certain animal species.
Drawing: Bianca Bauch
The research group COPE focuses on the study of the effects of multiple anthropogenic drivers on biodiversity, at different temporal and spatial scales (local, landscape, regional) and through different levels of biological organization (species, populations, communities). Among the main drivers of transformed natural conditions we study invasive species, international species trade, climate change and habitat loss due to land use change. Our main goal is to understand the ecological processes behind observed patterns of species occurrence, abundance, distribution and composition, including species' status and trends, risk assessments and the consequences of over-exploitation of species - as well as the consequences of uncertainty. Key aspects in our studies include species' traits and environmental responses; animal movement and dispersal (connectivity), population dynamics, strategies to cope with these changes, but also physiology and phylogenetics. Contact with the relevant stakeholders is very important to us. We also advise authorities and companies directly.

We provide recommendations for nature conservation and international species protection (e.g. under which scenarios a sustainable use of natural resources could take place), and for implementation and optimization of biodiversity monitoring methods at local, national and global scales. Furthermore, we seek to understand local conservation conflicts that may arise due to changes in the occurrence of different species and to minimise them by means of suitable planning instruments.

An important part of the COPE research group comprises field-based data collection such as inventories, surveys and monitoring. For this purpose, we use a variety of sampling approaches, including Citizen Science, wildlife detection dogs, ID-tracking and eDNA.  Finally, we are concerned that field-based biodiversity data follow the FAIR principles, i.e., are Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable, and provide tools for FAIR data and metadata management.

Group members

Ongoing projects

Completed projects

Selected publications

 

Group members

Guest scientists

Alumni

Wildlife Detection Dogs

We also have four-legged employees in our WG. You can find more information about this here.

Biodiversity monitoring - participation welcome!

Our working group manages and participates in a number of different biodiversity monitoring programmes. You can also participate in some of them as a citizen. In most projects, you have to attend some kind of training course to be able to participate. However, some of them are open to everyone.

 

Current projects

 

The following projects are formally considered as completed. In some cases, however, research will be continued independently of financial support and administrative framework conditions. These can be activities for the publication of further results, field work to collect further data or activities for applying for new projects. Often, new interesting questions have crystallized in the completed projects or there are questions that could be raised in the framework, but not finally solved. These are good starting points for bachelor and master theses or perhaps a PhD project. Students as well as interested employees are welcome to contact the respective project managers and will be involved and supported wherever possible.

 

Index:

You could use our publication index for further requests.

2026 (1)

to index

2025 (25)

  • Bolte, L., Ertmer, J., Preißler, K., Klute, L., Schaffer, S., Barth, M.B., Steinfartz, S. (2025):
    Unaddressed hybridization between green (Bufotes viridis) and natterjack toads (Epidalea calamita) can lead to underestimation of genetic heterozygosity and inflated estimates of inbreeding
    Amphib. Reptil. 46 (1), 127 - 139 10.1163/15685381-bja10212
  • Bolte, L., Henle, K., Grimm-Seyfarth, A. (2025):
    Unreclaimed mines are key habitats for pioneer specialists: A case study on natterjack toad (Epidalea calamita) microhabitat occupancy
    Glob. Ecol. Conserv. 64 , e03942 10.1016/j.gecco.2025.e03942
  • Bolte, L., Weiß, H., Henle, K. (2025):
    Übersäuerte Laichgewässer: Eine ökologische Falle für Amphibien in der Bergbaufolgelandschaft
    Natursch. Landschaftspl. 57 (03), 22 - 29 10.1399/NuL.108585
  • Colom, P., Tejeda, A., Bonelli, S., Fontaine, B., Kuussaari, M., Maes, D., Mestdagh, X., Munguira, M.L., Musche, M., Pettersson, L.B., Roy, D., Rüdisser, J., Šašić, M., Schmucki, R., Stefanescu, C., Titeux, N., Settele, J., van Swaay, C., Gordillo, J., Melero, Y. (2025):
    The interplay of climate change, urbanization, and species traits shapes European butterfly population trends
    bioRxiv 10.1101/2025.02.13.638066
  • Durka, W., Michalski, S.G., Höfner, J., Bucharova, A., Kolář, F., Müller, C.M., Oberprieler, C., Šemberová, K., Bauer, M., Bernt, M., Bleeker, W., Brändel, S., Bucher, S.F., Eibes, P.M., Ewald, M., Goldberg, R., Grant, K., Haider, S., Harpke, A., Haun, F., Kaufmann, R., Korell, L., Kunzmann, D., Lauterbach, D., Leib, S., Lenzewski, N., Loritz, H., Madaj, A.-M., Mainz, A.K., Meinecke, P., Mertens, H., Meyer, H.M., Musche, M., Ristow, M., Rosche, C., Roscher, C., Rutte, D., Schacherer, A., Schmidt, W., Schmoldt, J., Schneider, S., Schwarz, J.-H., Skowronek, S., Socher, S.A., Stanik, N., Twerski, A., Weiß, K., Weiß, M., Wille, A., Zehm, A., Zidorn, C., the RegioDiv Consortium, (2025):
    Assessment of genetic diversity among seed transfer zones for multiple grassland plant species across Germany
    Basic Appl. Ecol. 84 , 50 - 60 10.1016/j.baae.2024.11.004
  • Greenwell, M.P., Botham, M.S., Bruford, M.W., Day, J.C., Gibbs, M., Høye, T.T., Maes, D., Middlebrook, I., Musche, M., Pettersson, L.B., Roy, D.B., Settele, J., Stefanescu, C., Teder, T., Thomas, N.E., Watts, K., Oliver, T.H. (2025):
    Monitoring spatiotemporal patterns in the genetic diversity of a European butterfly species
    Insect. Conserv. Divers. 18 (1), 80 - 94 10.1111/icad.12786
  • Harpke, A., Kühn, E., Schmitt, T., Settele, J., Musche, M. (2025):
    The Grassland Butterfly Index for Germany
    Nat. Conserv.-Bulgaria (59), 315 - 334 10.3897/natureconservation.59.162812
  • Henle, K., Klenke, R., Barth, B., Grimm-Seyfarth, A., Bowler, D.E. (2025):
    Challenges and opportunities for assessing trends of amphibians with heterogeneous data – a call for better metadata reporting
    Nat. Conserv.-Bulgaria (58), 31 - 60 10.3897/natureconservation.58.137848
  • Kasiske, T., Klimek, S., Dauber, J., Harpke, A., Kühn, E., Levers, C., Schwieder, M., Settele, J., Sietz, D., Tetteh, G.O., Musche, M. (2025):
    Identifying typical patterns of land-use and landscape structure in citizen science butterfly monitoring
    Ecol. Indic. 180 , art. 114317 10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.114317
  • Klein, A.-M., Thompson, A., Lakner, S., Mupepele, A.-C., Paetow, H., Sponagel, C., Bieling, C., Bleidorn, C., Breitkreuz, L., Hasenöhrl, U., Sommer, M., Tanneberger, F., Bruelheide, H., Muus, K., Schmidt, A., Settele, J., Sporbert, M., Kühn, I., Buscot, F., Otto, P., Böhning-Gaese, K., Fornoff, F., Ssymank, A., Musche, M., Harpke, A., Bartkowski, B., Eisenhauer, N., Ristok, C., Tebbe, C.C., von Hagenow, C.S., Schoof, N., Schreiner, V., Mehring, M., Morhart, C. (2025):
    Agriculture and open land
    In: Wirth, C., Bruelheide, H., Farwig, N., Marx, J., Settele, J. (eds.)
    Faktencheck Artenvielfalt. Assessment of the status of biodiversity and prospects for conservation in Germany
    oekom, München, p. 217 - 355 10.14512/9783987264733
  • Koch, V.P., Bolte, L., Harms, W., Henle, K., Grimm-Seyfarth, A. (2025):
    Wildlife detection dogs effectively survey a terrestrial amphibian, but differ among individuals, weather and habitat
    Ecol. Solut. Evid. 6 (2), e70062 10.1002/2688-8319.70062
  • Koch, V.P., Bolte, L., Harms, W., Henle, K., Grimm-Seyfarth, A. (2025):
    Data from: Wildlife detection dogs effectively survey a terrestrial amphibian, but differ among individuals, weather and habitat
    Dryad 10.5061/dryad.hqbzkh1vg
  • Kühn, E. (2025):
    Buchvorstellung „Geheimnisvolle Schmetterlingswelt“
    Oedippus 42 , 62
  • Kühn, E., Musche, M., Harpke, A., Feldmann, R., Settele, J. (2025):
    Editorial
    Oedippus 42 , 5
  • Kühn, E., Musche, M., Harpke, A., Feldmann, R., Settele, J. (2025):
    Tagfalter-Monitoring Deutschland: Auswertung 2005–2023
    Oedippus 42 , 6 - 43
  • Lanuza, J.B., Knight, T.M., Montes-Perez, N., Glenny, W.R., Acuña, P., Albrecht, M., Artamendi, M., Badenhausser, I., Bennett, J.M., Biella, P., Bommarco, R., Cappellari, A., Castro, S., Clough, Y., Colom, P., Costa, J., Cyrille, N., de Manincor, N., Dominguez-Lapido, P., Dominik, C., Dupont, Y.L, Feldmann, R., Felten, E., Ferrero, V., Fiordaliso, W., Fisogni, A., FitzPatrick, Ú., Galloni, M., Gaspar, H., Gazzea, E., Goia, I., Gómez-Martínez, C., González-Estévez, M.A., González-Varo, J.P., Grass, I., Hadrava, J., Hautekèete, N., Hederström, V., Heleno, R., Hervias-Parejo, S., Heuschele, J.M., Hoiss, B., Holzschuh, A., Hopfenmüller, S., Iriondo, J.M., Jauker, B., Jauker, F., Jersáková, J., Kallnik, K., Karise, R., Kleijn, D., Klotz, S., Krausl, T., Kühn, E., Lara-Romero, C., Larkin, M., Laurent, E., Lázaro, A., Librán-Embid, F., Liu, Y., Lopes, S., López-Núñez, F., Loureiro, J., Magrach, A., Mänd, M., Marini, L., Beltran Mas, R., Massol, F., Maurer, C., Michez, D., Molina, F.P., Morente-López, J., Mullen, S., Nakas, G., Neuenkamp, L., Nowak, A., O'Connor, C.J., O'Rourke, A., Öckinger, E., Olesen, J.M., Opedal, Ø.H., Petanidou, T., Piquot, Y., Potts, S.G., Power, E.F., Proesmans, W., Rakosy, D., Reverté, S., Roberts, S.P.M., Rundlöf, M., Russo, L., Schatz, B., Scheper, J., Schweiger, O., Serra, P.E., Siopa, C., Smith, H.G., Stanley, D., Ştefan, V., Steffan-Dewenter, I., Stout, J.C., Sutter, L., Motivans Švara, E., Świerszcz, S., Thompson, A., Traveset, A., Trefflich, A., Tropek, R., Tscharntke, T., Vanbergen, A.J., Vilà, M., Vujić, A., White, C., Wickens, J.B., Wickens, V.B., Winsa, M., Zoller, L., Bartomeus, I. (2025):
    Correction to EuPPollNet: a European database of plant-pollinator networks
    Glob. Ecol. Biogeogr. 34 (3), e70014 10.1111/geb.70000
  • Lanuza, J.B., Knight, T.M., Montes-Perez, N., Glenny, W.R., Acuña, P., Albrecht, M., Artamendi, M., Badenhausser, I., Bennett, J.M., Biella, P., Bommarco, R., Cappellari, A., Castro, S., Clough, Y., Colom, P., Costa, J., Cyrille, N., de Manincor, N., Dominguez-Lapido, P., Dominik, C., Dupont, Y.L, Feldmann, R., Felten, E., Ferrero, V., Fiordaliso, W., Fisogni, A., FitzPatrick, Ú., Galloni, M., Gaspar, H., Gazzea, E., Goia, I., Gómez-Martínez, C., González-Estévez, M.A., González-Varo, J.P., Grass, I., Hadrava, J., Hautekèete, N., Hederström, V., Heleno, R., Hervias-Parejo, S., Heuschele, J.M., Hoiss, B., Holzschuh, A., Hopfenmüller, S., Iriondo, J.M., Jauker, B., Jauker, F., Jersáková, J., Kallnik, K., Karise, R., Kleijn, D., Klotz, S., Krausl, T., Kühn, E., Lara-Romero, C., Larkin, M., Laurent, E., Lázaro, A., Librán-Embid, F., Liu, Y., Lopes, S., López-Núñez, F., Loureiro, J., Magrach, A., Mänd, M., Marini, L., Beltran Mas, R., Massol, F., Maurer, C., Michez, D., Molina, F.P., Morente-López, J., Mullen, S., Nakas, G., Neuenkamp, L., Nowak, A., O'Connor, C.J., O'Rourke, A., Öckinger, E., Olesen, J.M., Opedal, Ø.H., Petanidou, T., Piquot, Y., Potts, S.G., Power, E.F., Proesmans, W., Rakosy, D., Reverté, S., Roberts, S.P.M., Rundlöf, M., Russo, L., Schatz, B., Scheper, J., Schweiger, O., Serra, P.E., Siopa, C., Smith, H.G., Stanley, D., Ştefan, V., Steffan-Dewenter, I., Stout, J.C., Sutter, L., Motivans Švara, E., Świerszcz, S., Thompson, A., Traveset, A., Trefflich, A., Tropek, R., Tscharntke, T., Vanbergen, A.J., Vilà, M., Vujić, A., White, C., Wickens, J.B., Wickens, V.B., Winsa, M., Zoller, L., Bartomeus, I. (2025):
    EuPPollNet: a European database of plant-pollinator networks
    Glob. Ecol. Biogeogr. 34 (2), e70000 10.1111/geb.70000
  • Lausch, A., Selsam, P., Heege, T., von Trentini, F., Almeroth, A., Borg, E., Klenke, R., Bumberger, J. (2025):
    Monitoring and modelling landscape structure, land use intensity and landscape change as drivers of water quality using remote sensing
    Sci. Total Environ. 960 , art. 178347 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.178347
  • Lauterbach, M., Adam, J., Bolte, L., Paule, S., Reinhardt, T. (2025):
    On the occurrence of a golden colour variant in the Common Spadefoot Toad, Pelobates fuscus (Laurenti, 1768), in the state of Saxony, Germany
    Herpetology Notes 18 , 941 - 946
  • Musche, M., Albrecht, M., Becker, J., Bittermann, J., von Blanckenhagen, B., Böck, O., Caspari, A., Caspari, S., Dolek, M., Harpke, A., Hermann, G., Joger, H.G., Kolligs, D., Lange, A., Müller, D., Nunner, A., Pollrich, S., Reinelt, T., Rennwald, E., Schmitz, O., Schönborn, C., Schulze, W., Schurian, K., Strätling, R., Wachlin, V., Wiemers, M. (2025):
    Rote Liste und Gesamtartenliste der Tagfalter und Widderchen (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea et Zygaenidae) Deutschlands
    170
    94 S. 10.19217/rl17011
  • Rojas-Troncoso, N., Gómez-Silva, V., Grimm-Seyfarth, A., Schüttler, E. (2025):
    Dog–stranger interactions can facilitate canine incursion into wilderness: The role of food provisioning and sociability
    Biology-Basel 14 (8), art. 1006 10.3390/biology14081006
  • São Pedro, M., Smith, M.N., Zuquim, G., Tuomisto, H., Stark, S.C., do Amaral Pereira, L.G., Bobrowiec, P.E.D., Bueno, A.S., Capaverde Jr., U., Castilho, C., Esteban, E., Lima, A., Magnusson, W., Menger, J., Goretti Pinto, M., Rincón, L., da Cunha Tavares, V., Waldez, F., Schietti, J. (2025):
    Forest structure predicts plant and animal species diversity and composition changes in an Amazonian forest
    Biodivers. Conserv. 34 , 3865 - 3888 10.1007/s10531-025-03136-4
  • Settele, J., Aracil, A., Arnberg, H., Åström, S., Bacon, J., Balalaikins, M., Báldi, A., Bane, M., Barda, M., Barea‐Azcón, J.-M., Beckert, J., Berlengée, F., Bevk, D., Biesmeijer, J.C., Bonelli, S., Bosch, J., Botham, M., Bourn, N., Bozua, M., Brosens, D., Burguillos, A., Breeze, T.D., Buchner, D., Cabiddu, L., Pablo, J., Cantú-Salazar, C.S., Carbone, D., Caritg, R., Carvell, C., Castro, S., Collins, S., Dauber, J., De Flores, M., de Groot, M., Dapporto, L., Demeter, I., Dennis, E.B., Dieker, P., Dopagne, C., Dorchin, A., Dvořák, T., Ellis, S., Escobés, R., Eykelboom, J., Fric, Z.F., Fernández‐García, J.M., Flaminio, S., Fontaine, C., Frenzel, M., Gecchele, L., Gelaude, E., Ghisbain, G., Glogovčan, P., Gracianteparaluceta, A., Grescho, V., Haase, P., Harpke, A., Harrower, C., Haubrock, P.J., Heliölä, J., Herrera-Mesías, F., Hlaváček, A., Honchar, H., Houard, X., Høye, T.T., Isaac, N.J.B., Ješovnik, A., Jocqué M., , Johnson, K., Judge, M., Karlis, G., Kablar, D., Kazlauskis, K., Knapp, M., Koderman, B., Kolev, Z., Komac, B., Kovács-Hostyánszki, A., Kühn, E., Kuussaari, M., Lang, A., Le Divelec, R., Leese, F., Loureiro, J., Lutovinovas, E., Lysaght, L., Maebe, K., Maes, D., Mandery, K., McGowan, D., Mestdagh, X., Menger, J.S., Michez, D., Middlebrook, I., Milotic, T., Monasterio, Y., Monteiro, E., López Munguira, M., Musche, M., Neukermans, A., Nogueira Tavares, C., Östrand, F., Oteman, B., Ozden, O., Pavlíčko, A., Pérez-Bañón, C., Perrard, A., Petanidou, T., Pettersson, L.B. et al., Pladevall, C., Pocock, M.J.O., Pollet, M., Potts, S.G., Quaranta, M., Ranalli, R., Rákosy, L., Rasmont, P., Reverté Saiz, S., Reyserhove, L., Roberts, S.P.M., Rodrigo, A., Rojo, S., Rosa, P., Roth, T., Rüdisser, J., Šašić, M., Scalercio, S., Schamp, K., Schmidt, V., Schmucki, R., Schönwälder, M., Schweiger, O., Sevilleja, C.G., Sielezniew, I., Sielezniew, M., Simoens, N., Sinclair, J.S., Slabbert, E., Sobczyk‐Moran, G., Soors, J., Ståhls, G., Stavrianakis, G., Stavrinides, M., Stefanescu, C., Štrobl, M., Šturm, R., Švitra, G., Szabadfalvi, A., Szigeti, V., Teunissen, L., Tiitsaar, A., Tiitsaar, N., Tscheulin, T., Tzirkalli, E., Ubach, A., van Breda, A., Van Deijk, J., Van de Meutter, F., Van den Heuvel, Y., Vanden Houten, J., Vander Mijnsbrugge, K., Van Gompel, W., Vanhaverbeke, K., Van Nieuwstadt, M., van Swaay, C.A.M., Varnava, A., Vereecken, N.J., Verkaik, I., Verovnik, R., Vilks, K., Vizauer, T.-C., Vray, S., Vujić, A., Warren, M.S., Weigand, A., Wever, R., Whitfield, A., Wood, T.J., Wynhoff, I., Zavatta, L., Roy, D.B. (2025):
    SPRING - Strengthening Pollinator Recovery through Indicators and monitoring
    European Commission, Brussels, 116 pp. 10.2779/7978371
  • Settele, J., Steiner, R., Reinhardt, R., Feldmann, R., Hermann, G., Musche, M., Kühn, E., Brehm, G. (2025):
    Schmetterlinge. Die Tagfalter und Widderchen Deutschlands
    Ulmer, Stuttgart, 288 S.
  • van Swaay, C., Schmucki, R., Roy, D., Dennis, E., Collins, S., Fox, R., Kolev, Z.D., G. Sevilleja, C., Warren, M.S., Whitfield, A., Wynhoff, I., Arnberg, H.J.H., Balalaikins, M., Barea, J.M., Boe, A.M.B., Bonelli, S., Botham, M.S., Bourn, N.A.D., Cancela, J.P., Caritg, R., Dapporto, L., Ducry, A., Dušej, G., De Flores, M., Dopagne, C., Escobés, R., Eskildsen, A.E., Zdenek, F.F., Fernández-García, J.M., Fontaine, B., Glogovčan, P., Gohli, J., Gracianteparaluceta, A., Grill, A., Harpke, A., Harrower, C., Heliölä, J., Hoye, T.T., Judge, M., Kati, V., Krenn, H.W., Kühn, E., Kuussaari, M., Lang, A., Lehner, D., Lysaght, L., Maes, D., McGowan, D., Melero, Y., Mestdagh, X., Middlebrook, I., Monasterio, Y., Monteiro, E., Montes, A., Munguira, M.L., Musche, M., Olivares, F.J., Ozden, O., Pladevall, C., Pavličko, A., Pettersson, L.B., Rakosy, L., Roth, T., Rüdisser, J., Šašić, M., Scalercio, S., Schönwälder, M., Settele, J., Sielezniew, I., Sielezniew, M., Sobczyk-Moran, G., Stefanescu, C., Švitra, G., Svabadfalvi, A., Tiitsaar, A., Titeux, N., Tzirkalli, E., Tzortzakaki, O., Ubach, A., Vičiuvienė, E., Vray, S., Zografou, K. (2025):
    EU Grassland Butterfly Index 1991-2023 Technical report
    Zenodo
    10.5281/zenodo.16367397
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2024 (26)

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2023 (16)

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2022 (23)

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2021 (21)

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2020 (23)

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2019 (18)

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2018 (20)

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2017 (23)

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2016 (11)

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2015 (15)

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