Team > M. Sc. Nina Grella

Faculty of Biology, Chemistry & Earth Sciences
Population Ecology

Doctoral student

Research project: subproject in the DFG Research Unit 5207 ‘Reassembly of species interaction networks’: influence of saproxylic insects on dead wood decomposition along the recovery gradient in a recovering lowland rainforest

Large areas of tropical rainforests were deforested in the past decade and the pressure on these ecosystems is increasing. However, forests have the potential to recover and regrow naturally after anthropogenic disturbances. These regrown secondary forests nowadays already represent a dominant forest ecosystem in many regions. The United Nations now declared 2021 – 2030 as the UN Decade of Ecological Restoration.  Yet, the mechanisms how ecosystems recover and the reassembly processes of species and their complex interactions are still understudied in the tropics.

The DFG Research Unit 5207 ‘Reassembly of species interaction networks’ aims to deliver insights into 6 ecosystem processes in a recovering lowland rainforest with special focus on reassembly rules, species interaction networks and the role of functional traits. The study sites are located in the Chocó rainforest in northern Ecuador. Although, only 2% of its original size is remaining, the Chocó provides a unique opportunity for studying a forest mosaic with different stages of forest recovery.

In my project I will investigate the influence of saproxylic insects on dead wood decomposition along the recovery gradient. Dead wood provides habitat for many specialist species and its decomposition plays an important role in nutrient cycling. Many termite, ant, beetle and fungi species, the focal groups of this study, feed upon and/or nest in dead wood. Former studies showed that they have a huge influence on dead wood decomposition. Although, estimates suggest that the highest dead wood amount and decomposition rates are found in the tropics, the interaction between host tree species and colonizing insects and fungi are not fully understood yet. With my research I want to deliver insights into the complex relationships of these groups and contribute to a better understanding of reassembly processes in tropical ecosystems.

Faculty of Biology, Chemistry & Earth Sciences
Population Ecology

Publications

2025

Nina Grella, Karen Pedersen, Nico Blüthgen, Annika Busse, David A. Donoso, Ana Falconí‐López, Christian Fiderer, Marco Heurich, Maria de la Hoz, Peter Kriegel, Felicity L. Newell, Marcel Püls, Dominik Rabl, H. Martin Schäfer, Sebastian Seibold, Constance J. Tremlett, Heike Feldhaar, Jörg Müller: Vertebrate diversity and biomass along a recovery gradient in a lowland tropical forest. In: Biotropica, 57 (2025). - .
doi:10.1111/btp.13417

2024

Ana Falconí-López, Oliver Mitesser, H. Martin Schaefer, Nico Blüthgen, Annika Busse, Heike Feldhaar, Juan Freile, Rudy Gelis, Nina Grella, Christoph Heibl, Mareike Kortmann, Felicity L. Newell, Dominik Rabl, Matthias Schleuning, Sebastian Seibold, Çağan H. Şekercioğlu, Boris A. Tinoco, Constance J. Tremlett, Jörg Müller, David A. Donoso: Habitat niches of bird species along a recovery gradient in the Chocó tropical forest. In: Ecological Indicators, 166 (2024). - .
doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112260

Rosa Gindhart, Jörg Müller, Zuzana Burivalova, Nico Blüthgen, Annika Busse, Maria de la Hoz, David A. Donoso, Heike Feldhaar, Nina Grella, Mareike Kortmann, Peter Kriegel, Sonja Kümmet, Felicity L. Newell, Marcel Püls, H. Martin Schaefer, Sebastian Seibold, Constance J. Tremlett, Oliver Mitesser: The impact of land use on the acoustic behaviour of cicadas in the Chocó lowland tropical forest of Ecuador. In: Insect Conservation and Diversity, (2024). - .
doi:10.1111/icad.12793

Ana Falconí-López, Nina Grella, David A. Donoso, Heike Feldhaar, Constance J. Tremlett, Jörg Müller: Patterns of deadwood amount and deadwood diversity along a natural forest recovery gradient from agriculture to old-growth lowland tropical forests. In: European Journal of Forest Research, 143 (2024). - S. 1321-1332.
doi:10.1007/s10342-024-01671-3

2023

Jörg Müller, Oliver Mitesser, H. Martin Schaefer, Sebastian Seibold, Annika Busse, Peter Kriegel, Dominik Rabl, Rudy Gelis, Alejandro Arteaga, Juan Freile, Gabriel Augusto Leite, Tomaz Nascimento de Melo, Jack LeBien, Marconi Campos-Cerqueira, Nico Blüthgen, Constance J. Tremlett, Dennis Böttger, Heike Feldhaar, Nina Grella, Ana Falconí-López, David A. Donoso, Jerome Moriniere, Zuzana Buřivalová: Soundscapes and deep learning enable tracking biodiversity recovery in tropical forests. In: Nature Communications, 14 (2023). - .
doi:10.1038/s41467-023-41693-w

Faculty of Biology, Chemistry & Earth Sciences
Population Ecology

M. Sc. Nina Grella
Doctoral student

Animal Ecology I - Population Ecology
Building NW I, Room 5.0 01 07
University of Bayreuth
Universitätsstr. 30
95447 Bayreuth

Phone: +49 (0) 921 55 2647
Fax: +49 (0) 921 55 2784

E-mail: Nina.Grella@uni-bayreuth.de