Dr. Carolina Ocampo-Ariza
(she/her)
CV
Since 2025
Postdoc researcher - EcoNetLab
2022-2025
Postdoc researcher - ECO-CACAO Project
University of Göttingen
2018 - 2025
Consultant in biodiversity research in agroecosystems.
Bioversity International, Lima, Peru.
2018-2022
PhD student at the Agroecology group, University of Göttingen.
"Pest-control services by birds and bats in native cacao agroforests of Peru". Suma cum Laude.
2015-2017
MSc in International Nature Conservation (MINC) at University of Lincoln (New Zealand) and University of Göttingen (Germany).
Research interests
I am a tropical ecologist passionate for identifying sustainable strategies to reconcile biodiversity conservation and food production. I study changes in animal communities (mostly birds, bats and arthropods) in response to land-use changes and novel management strategies in agricultural landscapes, agroecosystems and tropical forests.
Research interests:
Community ecology
Landscape ecology
Biodiversity and ecosystem services
Biotic interactions
Cross-disciplinary research
Contact
carolina.ocampo @ tu-darmstadt .de
B1|01, Room 259
Schnittspahnstr. 3
64287 Darmstadt
Germany
Phone +49 6151 16-75416
Selected publications
[2025]
Aycart-Lazo, P., Ivanez-Ballesteros, B., Ocampo-Ariza, C., Wessely, J., Dullinger, S., Steffan-Dewenter, I., Thomas, E., Tscharntke, T. & Maas, B. (2025). Landscape context influences local management effects on birds and bats in Amazonian cacao agroforestry systems. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 385, 109545.
Ocampo‐Ariza, C., Müller, S., Yovera, F., Thomas, E., Vansynghel, J., Maas, B., Steffan-Dewenter, I., & Tscharntke, T. (2025). Cacao grafting increases crop yield without compromising biodiversity. Journal of Applied Ecology.
[2024]
Ocampo‐Ariza, C., Hanf‐Dressler, T., Maas, B., Novoa‐Cova, J., Thomas, E., Vansynghel, J., Steffan-Dewenter, I., & Tscharntke, T. (2024). Regional differences of functional and taxonomic bird diversity in tropical agroforests of Peru. Conservation Science and Practice, 6(6), e13123.
[2023]
Ocampo‐Ariza, C., Vansynghel, J., Bertleff, D., Maas, B., Schumacher, N., Ulloque‐Samatelo, C., Yovera, F., Thomas, E., Steffan-Dewenter, I., & Tscharntke, T. (2023). Birds and bats enhance cacao yield despite suppressing arthropod mesopredation. Ecological Applications, 33(5), e2886.
Ocampo-Ariza, C., Toledo-Hernández, M., Librán-Embid, F., Armenteras, D., Vansynghel, J., Raveloaritiana, E., ... & Maas, B. (2023). Global South leadership towards inclusive tropical ecology and conservation. Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation, 21(1), 17-24.
[2022]
Ocampo-Ariza, C., Maas, B., Castro-Namuche, J. P., Thomas, E., Vansynghel, J., Steffan-Dewenter, I., & Tscharntke, T. (2022). Trait-dependent responses of birds and bats to season and dry forest distance in tropical agroforestry. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 325, 107751.
[2020]
Maas, B., Thomas, E., Ocampo-Ariza, C., Vansynghel, J., Steffan-Dewenter, I., & Tscharntke, T. (2020). Transforming tropical agroforestry towards high socio-ecological standards. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 35(12), 1049-1052.