Curriculum Vitae
| Since July 2024 |
PhD Student. Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz. Title: “Investigation of the genetic diversity, population health and adaptive potential of solitary bees in Germany” Supervisor: Dr. Joseph Colgan |
| 2022 - 2024 |
MSc Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz Thesis: “Hive-Mine: How diverse are current bee genomic resources?” Supervisor: Dr. Joseph Colgan |
| 2018 - 2022 |
BSc Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz Thesis: “Assessing the effect of temperature regime on the physiology and diapause of Osmia species” Supervisor: Dr. Joseph Colgan |
Research Interests
My primary research interests revolve around wild, and particularly solitary bees, as well as other insect pollinators, with a focus on the impact of anthropogenic factors, such as climate change, on these organisms. My objectives are to contribute to improving our understanding of their biology in general and specifically their capacity to respond to these challenges in order to help mitigate their impact.
Furthermore, I am interested in the theory and practice of science communication, both within the scientific community as well as between scientists and the general public. I believe that effective, engaging and ethical communication of research and exchange of knowledge is crucial in addressing these issues. In this context, I am particularly interested in interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration, not only within the natural but also the social sciences.
PhD Project
The pollination services provided by wild bees are critical to the health and stability of both natural and anthropogenic ecosystems, yet they are experiencing severe population declines due to factors such as climate change, habitat fragmentation, increased pesticide use and the introduction of invasive species. Although solitary bees make up more than 75% of all bee species, our knowledge of this potentially particularly vulnerable group of pollinators is currently limited by a lack of scientific studies compared to their more well-known social relatives, such as honey bees and bumble bees.
An effective approach to assess the response of populations to current and future challenges is population genomics, which provides insights into factors such as genetic diversity, demographic background or population structure and thereby enables an assessment of current and future adaptation of wild bee populations.
This study will use state-of-the-art population genomic and bioinformatic methods to shed light on genetic diversity, selection patterns and factors important for population health for three different solitary bee species from three different families (Andrenidae: Andrena haemorrhoa, Apidae: Anthophora plumipes, Megachilidae: Osmia bicornis) using state-of-the-art population genomic and bioinformatic methods to provide fundamental insights into the adaptation of solitary bee species to changing environmental conditions and ultimately improve our understanding of the biology, genomics and population health of wild pollinators.
Through comparisons with population genomic datasets available for social bees, it will also allow a preliminary assessment of the transferability of knowledge gained for these species to their solitary relatives, as well as provide urgently needed genomic resources for further studies on solitary bees.
Publications
Dunn, J.D., Hodapp, D., Menzel, F., & Kohlmeier, P. (2024). Larval chemical cues induce rapid changes in foraging preferences of ant workers (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecological News, 34, 71-79. https://doi.org/10.25849/myrmecol.news_034:071
Contact
Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution
Dean Hodapp
Hanns-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 15
01.466
55128 Mainz
Deutschland
Tel.: +49 6131 39 27847
Fax: +49 6131 39 27850