Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Weisser
Academic Career and Research Areas
Professor Weisser’s (*1964) research interests include the ecological interactions between organisms and the consequences of these interactions for populations, communities and ecosystems. Work at his Chair focuses, in particular, on the investigation of the impacts of human land use on biodiversity and the development of sustainable land use strategies. Their research is characterized by a strong fieldwork component and the predominant use of insects as model organisms.
Professor Weisser studied biology and mathematics at the Universities of Giessen and Bayreuth, before earning his doctorate from the Department of Zoology at the University of Oxford (UK) in 1994. After a postdoctoral stay at Imperial College London (UK) and the University of Basel (Switzerland), he assumed a position as Professor of Terrestrial Ecology at Friedrich Schiller University Jena in 1999. In 2011, Professor Weisser was appointed to the TUM Chair of Terrestrial Ecology.
Key Publications (all publications)
Weisser WW, Roscher C, Meyer ST, Ebeling A, Luo GJ, Allan E, Besser H, Barnard RL, Buchmann N, Buscot F, Engels C, Fischer C, Fischer M, Gessler A, Gleixner G, Halle S, Hildebrandt A, Hillebrand H, de Kroon H, Lange M, Leimer S, Le Roux X, Milcu A, Mommer L, Niklaus PA, Oelmann Y, Proulx R, Roy J, Scherber C, Scherer-Lorenzen M, Scheu S, Tscharntke T, Wachendorf M, Wagg C, Weigelt A, Wilcke W, Wirth C, Schulze ED, Schmid B, Eisenhauer N: "Biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning in a 15-year grassland experiment: Patterns, mechanisms, and open questions". Basic and Applied Ecology. 2017; 23: 1-73.
AbstractMeyer ST, Ptacnik R, Hillebrand H, Bessler H, Buchmann N, Ebeling A, Eisenhauer N, Engels C, Fischer M, Halle S, Klein A, Oelmann Y, Roscher C, Rottstock T, Scherber C, Scheu S, Schmid B, Schulze ED, Temperton V, Tscharntke T, Voigt W, Weigelt A, Wilcke WW, Weisser WW: "Biodiversity–multifunctionality relationships depend on identity and number of measured functions". Nature Ecology and Evolution. 2017; 2: 44-49.
AbstractApfelbeck, B., R. P. H. Snep, T. E. Hauck, J. Ferguson, M. Holy, C. Jakoby, J. Scott MacIvor, L. Schär, M. Taylor, and W. W. Weisser. 2020. Designing wildlife-inclusive cities that support human-animal co-existence. Landscape and Urban Planning 200:103817.
AbstractSeibold, S., M. M. Gossner, N. K. Simons, N. Blüthgen, J. Müller, D. Ambarli, C. Ammer, J. Bauhus, M. Fischer, J. C. Habel, K. E. Linsenmair, T. Nauss, C. Penone, D. Prati, P. Schall, E. D. Schulze, J. Vogt, S. Wollauer, and W. W. Weisser. 2019. Arthropod decline in grasslands and forests is associated with landscape-level drivers. Nature 574:671-674.
AbstractWeisser WW, Siemann E: "Insects and ecosystem function". Heidelberg, Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 2004.
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