Dr. Claudia Dupke

Department of Biometry and Environmental System Analysis

Tennenbacher Straße 4, 79106 Freiburg, Germany

email: claudia.dupke(a)biom.uni-freiburg.de
phone: +49 511 1626520
fax: +49 761 203-3751

Research interests

 

Mathematics is not only beautiful but also useful to point us to fundamental principles in nature. In general, I'm interested in and fascinated by finding and formulating general patterns in ecological processes.

As I aim to understand conceptually the mechanisms behind natural patterns, I use two approaches in combination. First, I do data science, by digging into data sets with the aid of various statistical tools (Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian-based approaches) that help to find general patterns in data. Second, I employ mechanistic models (e.g. SIR, IBM) that are supposed to reproduce these patterns by simulations in order to find the driving forces of an ecological process.

Specifically, during my PhD I worked on methods that help to identify and decompose the sources of variation in the habitat selection of large herbivores, which included temporal and spatial variation, as well as variation based on personality traits. The predator-prey system of the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) and the European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) was also within the scope of my work. 

 

Current Project

 

“Optimizing conservation and recreation in national parks for decision making in park management”

National park management has the dual mission of protecting and conserving natural systems and providing services to visitors. However, these objectives could involve contradictory interests. A widespread and general rule is that the protection of natural processes requires as little anthropogenic disturbance as possible, yet park visitors want access to natural scenery and wildlife. Limiting the number of visitors could be one approach, but a modification of visitor behaviour, redistribution of visitor use, improved infrastructure and restoration measures could be alternative strategies to mitigate undesirable impacts. Similarly, the use of ecosystem services is not harmful for an ecosystem per se, as long as the maintenance and/or restoration of the ecological processes are considered simultaneously. The ultimate goal is to find an appropriate balance between biodiversity conservation and recreational activities, where the participation of local communities and relevant stakeholders facilitates the implementation of this goal.

If you are interested in a topic for your master thesis please contact me

 

Possible topics:

- Literature review: Effect of close-to-nature recreational activities on wildlife behavior

- Statistical analysis: Activity pattern and stress in mammals

- Statistical analysis: Movement and habitat use in lynx, chamois, red and roe deer

- Statistical analysis of camera trapping data

- In collaboration with:

PhD Simone Ciuti, Prof. Dr. Carsten Dormann

Bavarian Forest National Park (PD Dr. Marco Heurich)

Swiss National Park (Thomas Rempfler, Dr. Pia Anderwald)

Funded by the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU)

 

Curriculum Vitae

since 2017		Post-Doc at the Department of Biometry and Environmental System Analysis, University of Freiburg
since 2016		Lecturer at the Niedersächsisches Studienkolleg, University of Hanover
2009 - 2016		Doctoral research, University of Bayreuth - Biogeographical Modelling (sponsored by the Scholarship Programme of the German Federal Environmental Foundation of the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt)
2009		Diploma (Master) Thesis at the Department of Ecological Modelling, UFZ, Leipzig. „Synchrony and Adaptive Management: the Role of Buffer Structure in Populations"
2006		Studies of Mathematics at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
2006		Internship at the Allan Wilson Center for Molecular Ecology and Evolution: “Simulating The Ecological Niche Evolution Of Australasian Marsupials”
2003-2008		Studies of Biomathematics (Analysis/Optimization, Ecology) at the University of Greifswald, Germany

Publications

 

C. Dupke, C. Bonenfant, B. Reineking, R. Hable, T. Zeppenfeld, M. Ewald, and M. Heurich (2016). Habitat selection by a large herbivore at multiple spatial and temporal scales is primarily governed by food resources. – Ecography.

E. Ludes-Wehrmeister, C. Dupke, T. C. Harder, W. Baumgärtner, L. Haas, J. Teilmann, R. Dietz, L. F. Jensen, and U. Siebert (2016). Phocine distemper virus (pdv) seroprevalence as predictor for future outbreaks in harbour seals. – Veterinary Microbiology 183:43–49.

M. Ewald, C. Dupke, M. Heurich, J. Müller, and B. Reineking (2016). LiDAR remote sensing of forest structure and GPS telemetry data provide insights on winter habitat selection of European roe deer. – Forests, 5(6):1374–1390, 2014.

M. Filla, J. Premier, N. Magg, C. Dupke,I. Khorozyan, M. Waltert, L. Bufka & M. Heurich (2017). Habitat selection by Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) is primarily driven by avoidance of human activity during day and prey availability during night. – Ecology and Evolution.

C. Dupke (2017). Detecting and Decomposing the Sources of Variation in Habitat Selection of Large Herbivores in Space and Time (Dissertation).  Universität Bayreuth. epub.uni-bayreuth.de/3339/

C. Dupke , Dormann, C. F., Heurich, M. (2109). Does Public Participation Shift German National Park Priorities Away from Nature Conservation? Environmental Conservation; 46: 84-91: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/ S0376892918000310