Ecological Networks

Dr. Kevin Frank

CV                               

05/2018 - 09/2018

Research assistant at the workgroup „Ecological Networks“ of Prof. Dr. Nico Blüthgen (Department of Biology, TU Darmstadt, Germany)

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04/2014 - 04/2018

PhD thesis at TU Darmstadt: “Land-use Responses of Dung Beetle Communities and Their Ecosystem Services” (Supervisors: Nico Blüthgen; Thomas Schmitt)

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04/2013 - 01/2014

Research assistant at the workgroup „Ecological Networks“ of Prof. Dr. Nico Blüthgen (Department of Biology, TU Darmstadt, Germany)

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03/2013

Diploma in Biology at TU Darmstadt, Germany; thesis: „Effects of Temperature on Herbivory and Respiration of Orthoptera“

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10/2006 - 03/2013

Student of biology at Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany; main subjects: Ecology, Systematic Zoology, Plant Physiology

Reviewer for Biodiversity and Conservation, Austral Ecology, Journal of Insect Conservation, Journal of Applied Ecology & PLOS ONE

Research interests     

I am very interested in how abiotic and biotic factors affect nature. It is important and necessary to answer questions like how human disturbance (i.e. land-use or forest management) shapes biodiversity on a community level or a species itself. Getting to know how such factors influence species on different levels (e.g. interactions, behavior or metabolism) helps us to understand consequences for biodiversity. Additionally, basic research provides knowledge on species and helps encrypting mechanisms and certain behavior towards (external) factors. Therefore I use multiple approaches in field work and the laboratory such as chemical baits, nutrient analysis, GC-EAD and CHC-profiles.

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Research founded by 

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Research projects  

I recently finished my doctoral thesis about land-use responses of dung beetle communities and their ecosystem services. Currently I conduct fieldwork aiming for the quantification of ecosystem services (predation, parasitism, pollination and decomposition). Additionally, I am preparing a proposal for enhanced research regarding olfactory sensing in dung beetles (via GC-EAG) and the role of certain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) within this process. Furthermore, dung beetles are known to show distinct habitat preferences - reasons for this behavior remain to be fully understood. I am planning to analyze these patterns more closely by using cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) and transpiration measurements as possible cues for presence and absence of dung beetle taxa in forests and grasslands.

 Publications