Dr. Gita Benadi

Department of Biometry and Environmental System Analysis

Tennenbacher Straße 4, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
Room 03.059

email: gita.benadi(at)biom.uni-freiburg.de
phone: +49 761 203-3745
fax: +49 761 203-3751

Research interests

My research interests focus on mechanisms of diversity maintenance in ecological communities, robustness of communities to disturbances, and the role that specialisation plays for community diversity and stability. In my PhD thesis, I studied the relationship between specialisation and stability of plant-pollinator systems, an ecologically and economically important type of mutualism. These days, I continue to expand this work in several directions, using both mathematical models and empirical data.

 

 Teaching 

I currently teach three courses on a regular basis:

  Environmental Modelling ("Umweltsystemmodellierung", in German), B. Sc. level, together with Carsten Dormann

Numerical Process Modelling ("Numerische Prozessmodellierung", in German), M.Sc. level, together with Helmer Schack-Kirchner and Dominik Schlotter

Evolutionary Game Theory, M.Sc. level, together with Florian Hartig

 

Curriculum Vitae

2012 - present	PostDoc, University of Freiburg
2009 - 2013	PhD student, Field Station Fabrikschleichach, University of Würzburg
2008	Internship with Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore, India
2007	Field work for M.Sc. thesis at Kirindy Field Station, Madagascar
2005	Field course at Kuala Belalong Field Station, Brunei
2004 - 2007	Biology student, University of Würzburg
2002 - 2004	Biology student, University of Marburg

Publications

 

Fornoff, F., Klein, A.-M., Hartig, F., Benadi, G., Venjakob, C., Schaefer, H. M. Ebeling, A. (2016). Functional flower traits and their diversity drive pollinator visitation. Oikos, accepted for publication.

Schleuning, M., Fründ, J., Schweiger, O., Welk, E., Albrecht, J., Albrecht, M., Beil, M., Benadi, G., Blüthgen, N.,  Bruelheide, H., Böhning-Gaese, K., Dehling, M., Dormann, C.F., Exeler, N. Farwig, N., Harpke, A., Hickler, T., Kratochwil, A., Kuhlmann, M., Kühn, I., Michez, D., Mudri-Stojnic, S., Plein, M., Rasmont, P., Schwabe, A., Settele, J.,  Vujic, A., Weiner, C., Wiemers, M., Hof, C. (2016). Ecological networks are more sensitive to plant than to animal extinction under climate change. Nature Communications, 7, 13965.

Benadi, G. (2015). Requirements for plant coexistence through pollination niche partitioning. Proc. R. Soc. B, 282 (1810), 20150117.

Carvalheiro L, Biesmeijer J, Benadi G, Fruend J, Stang M et al. (2014). The potential for indirect effects between co-flowering plants via shared pollinators depends on resource abundance, accessibility and relatedness. Ecology Letters, 17, 1389-1399.

Benadi, G., Hovestadt, T., Poethke, H.-J. & Blüthgen, N. (2014). Specialization and phenological synchrony of plant–pollinator interactions along an altitudinal gradient. Journal of Animal Ecology, 83, 639-650.

Benadi, G., Blüthgen, N., Hovestadt, T. & Poethke, H.-J. (2013). When can plant-pollinator interactions promote plant diversity? American Naturalist, 182, 131-146.

Benadi, G., Blüthgen, N., Hovestadt, T. & Poethke, H.-J. (2013). Contrasting specialization-stability relationships in plant-animal mutualistic systems. Ecological Modelling, 258, 65-73.

Benadi, G., Blüthgen, N., Hovestadt, T. & Poethke, H.-J. (2012). Population dynamics of plant and pollinator communities: stability reconsidered. American Naturalist, 179, 157-168.

Benadi, G., Fichtel, C. & Kappeler, P. (2008) Intergroup relations and home range use in Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi). American Journal of Primatology, 70, 956-965.