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Chair of Conservation Biology and Forest Ecology

Dr. Oliver Mitesser

Dr. Oliver Mitesser

University of Würzburg
Field Station Fabrikschleichach
Glashüttenstraße 5
96181 Rauhenebrach
Phone: +49 931 31 86876
OliverMitesser

  • Phenology of plants and animals
  • Evolution of life history strategies
  • Social insects
  • Mathematical and statistical modeling

  • BETA-FOR: Enhancing the structural diversity between patches for improving multidiversity and multifunctionality in production forests
  • LandKlif: Effects of climate on functional diversity, conservation prioritization, and decomposer communities in land use gradients.

2024[ to top ]
  • Optimal fissioning strategies of social insects with respect to colony dynamics and nest founding probability. Hovestadt, T.; Kohl, P.; Mitesser, O. In Insectes Sociaux, 71(2), pp. 171–183. 2024.
  • Habitat niches of bird species along a recovery gradient in the Chocó tropical forest. Falconí-López, Ana; Mitesser, Oliver; Martin Schaefer, H.; Blüthgen, Nico; Busse, Annika; Feldhaar, Heike; Freile, Juan; Gelis, Rudy; Grella, Nina; Heibl, Christoph; Kortmann, Mareike; Newell, Felicity L.; Rabl, Dominik; Schleuning, Matthias; Seibold, Sebastian; Şekercioğlu, Çağan H.; Tinoco, Boris A.; Tremlett, Constance J.; Müller, Jörg; Donoso, David A. In Ecological Indicators, 166, p. 112260. Elsevier BV, 2024.
  • Season, decay stage, habitat, temperature and carrion beetles allow estimating the post‐mortem interval of wild boar carcasses. Müller, Jörg; Rietz, Janine; von Hoermann, Christian; Conraths, Franz J.; Benbow, M. Eric; Mitesser, Oliver; Schlüter, Jens; Lackner, Tomáš; Reckel, Frank; Heurich, Marco. In Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 5(1). Wiley, 2024.
  • Hill–Chao numbers allow decomposing gamma multifunctionality into alpha and beta components. Chao, Anne; Chiu, Chun-Huo; Hu, Kai-Hsiang; van der Plas, Fons; Cadotte, Marc W.; Mitesser, Oliver; Thorn, Simon; Mori, Akira S.; Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael; Eisenhauer, Nico; Bässler, Claus; Delory, Benjamin M.; Feldhaar, Heike; Fichtner, Andreas; Hothorn, Torsten; Peters, Marcell K.; Pierick, Kerstin; von Oheimb, Goddert; Müller, Jörg. 2024.
  • Species Diversity and Habitat Fragmentation Per Se: The Influence of Local Extinctions and Species Clustering. Hovestadt, Thomas; Poethke, Hans-Joachim; Müller, Jörg; Mitesser, Oliver. In The American Naturalist, pp. 000–000. University of Chicago Press, 2024.
2023[ to top ]
  • Weather explains the decline and rise of insect biomass over 34 years. Müller, Jörg; Hothorn, Torsten; Yuan, Ye; Seibold, Sebastian; Mitesser, Oliver; Rothacher, Julia; Freund, Julia; Wild, Clara; Wolz, Marina; Menzel, Annette. In Nature. Springer Science and Business Media {LLC}, 2023.
  • Ambient and substrate energy influence decomposer diversity differentially across trophic levels. Kriegel, Peter; Vogel, Sebastian; Angeleri, Romain; Baldrian, Petr; Borken, Werner; Bouget, Christophe; Brin, Antoine; Bussler, Heinz; Cocciufa, Cristiana; Feldmann, Benedikt; Gossner, Martin M.; Haeler, Elena; Hagge, Jonas; Hardersen, Sönke; Hartmann, Henrik; Hjältén, Joakim; Kotowska, Martyna M.; Lachat, Thibault; Larrieu, Laurent; Leverkus, Alexandro B.; Macagno, Anna L. M.; Mitesser, Oliver; Müller, Jörg; Obermaier, Elisabeth; Parisi, Francesco; Pelz, Stefan; Schuldt, Bernhard; Seibold, Sebastian; Stengel, Elisa; Sverdrup-Thygeson, Anne; Weisser, Wolfgang; Thorn, Simon. In Ecology Letters, 26(7), pp. 1157–1173. Wiley, 2023.
  • Diversity and specialization responses to climate and land use differ between deadwood fungi and bacteria. Englmeier, Jana; Rieker, Daniel; Mitesser, Oliver; Benjamin, Caryl; Fricke, Ute; Ganuza, Cristina; Haensel, Maria; Kellner, Harald; Lorz, Janina; Redlich, Sarah; Riebl, Rebekka; Rojas-Botero, Sandra; Rummler, Thomas; Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf; Stengel, Elisa; Tobisch, Cynthia; Uhler, Johannes; Uphus, Lars; Zhang, Jie; Müller, Jörg; Bässler, Claus. In Ecography, p. e06807. 2023.
  • Soundscapes and deep learning enable tracking biodiversity recovery in tropical forests. Müller, Jörg; Mitesser, Oliver; Schaefer, H. Martin; Seibold, Sebastian; Busse, Annika; Kriegel, Peter; Rabl, Dominik; Gelis, Rudy; Arteaga, Alejandro; Freile, Juan; Leite, Gabriel Augusto; de Melo, Tomaz Nascimento; LeBien, Jack; Campos-Cerqueira, Marconi; Bl{\"u}thgen, Nico; Tremlett, Constance J.; Böttger, Dennis; Feldhaar, Heike; Grella, Nina; Falconí-López, Ana; Donoso, David A.; Moriniere, Jerome; Buřivalová, Zuzana. In Nature Communications, 14(1), p. 6191. 2023.
  • Drivers of tree-related microhabitat profiles in European and Oriental beech forests. Mamadashvili, Giorgi; Brin, Antoine; Bässler, Claus; Chumak, Vasyl; Chumak, Maksym; Deidus, Valeriia; Drössler, Lars; Emberger, C{\’{e}}line; Georgiev, Kostadin B.; Ghrejyan, Tigran; Gossner, Martin M.; Hleb, Ruslan; Rafiei-Jahed, Razieh; Kalashian, Mark; Kambarov, Ivan; Karagyan, Gayane; Kevlishvili, Joni; Khutsishvili, Zviad; Kraus, Daniel; Lachat, Thibault; Lettenmaier, Ludwig; Mazmanyan, Meri; Mitesser, Oliver; Petrov, Peter I.; Roth, Nicolas; Tabunidze, Levan; Larrieu, Laurent; Müller, Jörg. In Biological Conservation, 285, p. 110245. Elsevier {BV}, 2023.
2022[ to top ]
  • Quantifying wood decomposition by insects and fungi using computed tomography scanning and machine learning. Seibold, Sebastian; Müller, Jörg; Allner, Sebastian; Willner, Marian; Baldrian, Petr; Ulyshen, Michael D.; Brandl, Roland; Bässler, Claus; Hagge, Jonas; Mitesser, Oliver. In Scientific Reports, 12(1). Springer Science and Business Media {LLC}, 2022.
  • Temporal Soundscape Patterns in a Panamanian Tree Diversity Experiment: Polycultures Show an Increase in High Frequency Cover. Müller, Sandra; Mitesser, Oliver; Oschwald, Linda; Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael; Potvin, Catherine. In Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10. Frontiers Media {SA}, 2022.
  • Enhancing the structural diversity between forest patches—A concept and real-world experiment to study biodiversity, multifunctionality and forest resilience across spatial scales. Müller, Jörg; Mitesser, Oliver; Cadotte, Marc W.; van der Plas, Fons; Mori, Akira S.; Ammer, Christian; Chao, Anne; Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael; Baldrian, Petr; Bässler, Claus; Biedermann, Peter; Cesarz, Simone; Cla{\ss}en, Alice; Delory, Benjamin M.; Feldhaar, Heike; Fichtner, Andreas; Hothorn, Torsten; Kuenzer, Claudia; Peters, Marcell K.; Pierick, Kerstin; Schmitt, Thomas; Schuldt, Bernhard; Seidel, Dominik; Six, Diana; Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf; Thorn, Simon; von Oheimb, Goddert; Wegmann, Martin; Weisser, Wolfgang W.; Eisenhauer, Nico. In Global Change Biology, 29(6), pp. 1437–1450. Wiley, 2022.
  • Response of cavity nesting birds to Lymantria dispar (Lepidoptera) and aerial spraying - An experimental approach. Hochrein, Sophia; Mitesser, Oliver; Liebhold, Andrew M.; Weisser, Wolfgang W; Leroy, Benjamin M. L.; Pretzsch, Hans; Hilmers, Torben; Rabl, Dominik; Müller, Jörg. In Forest Ecology and Management, 524, p. 120520. Elsevier {BV}, 2022.
  • The rising moon promotes mate finding in moths. Storms, Mona; Jakhar, Aryan; Mitesser, Oliver; Jechow, Andreas; Hölker, Franz; Degen, Tobias; Hovestadt, Thomas; Degen, Jacqueline. In Communications Biology, 5, p. 393. 2022.
  • Dung-visiting beetle diversity is mainly affected by land use, while community specialization is driven by climate. Englmeier, Jana; von Hoermann, Christian; Rieker, Daniel; Benbow, Marc Eric; Benjamin, Caryl; Fricke, Ute; Ganuza, Cristina; Haensel, Maria; Lackner, Tom{\’{a}}{\v{s}}; Mitesser, Oliver; Redlich, Sarah; Riebl, Rebekka; Rojas-Botero, Sandra; Rummler, Thomas; Salamon, Jörg-Alfred; Sommer, David; Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf; Tobisch, Cynthia; Uhler, Johannes; Uphus, Lars; Zhang, Jie; Müller, Jörg. In Ecology and Evolution, 12(10). Wiley, 2022.
  • Diverse effects of climate, land use, and insects on dung and carrion decomposition. Englmeier, Jana; Mitesser, Oliver; Benbow, M. Eric; Hothorn, Torsten; von Hoermann, Christian; Benjamin, Caryl; Fricke, Ute; Ganuza, Cristina; Haensel, Maria; Redlich, Sarah; Riebl, Rebekka; Botero, Sandra Rojas; Rummler, Thomas; Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf; Stengel, Elisa; Tobisch, Cynthia; Uhler, Johannes; Uphus, Lars; Zhang, Jie; Müller, Jörg. In Ecosystems. Springer Science and Business Media {LLC}, 2022.
2021[ to top ]
  • Relationship of insect biomass and richness with land use along a climate gradient. Uhler, Johannes; Redlich, Sarah; Zhang, Jie; Hothorn, Torsten; Tobisch, Cynthia; Ewald, J{\"o}rg; Thorn, Simon; Seibold, Sebastian; Mitesser, Oliver; Morini{\`e}re, J{\’e}r{\^o}me; others. In Nature communications, 12(1), pp. 1–9. Nature Publishing Group, 2021.
  • Tracking the temporal dynamics of insect defoliation by high-resolution radar satellite data. Bae, Soyeon; M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg; F{\"o}rster, Bernhard; Hilmers, Torben; Hochrein, Sophia; Jacobs, Martin; Leroy, Benjamin ML; Pretzsch, Hans; Weisser, Wolfgang W; Mitesser, Oliver. In Methods in Ecology and Evolution. Wiley Online Library, 2021.
  • Women temporarily synchronize their menstrual cycles with the luminance and gravimetric cycles of the Moon. Helfrich-Förster, C.; Monecke, S.; Spiousas, I.; Hovestadt, T.; Mitesser, O.; Wehr, T.A. In Science Advances, 7(5), p. eabe1358. 2021.
  • Natural Zeitgebers Under Temperate Conditions Cannot Compensate for the Loss of a Functional Circadian Clock in Timing of a Vital Behavior in Drosophila. Ruf, Franziska; Mitesser, Oliver; Mungwa, Simon Tii; Horn, Melanie; Rieger, Dirk; Hovestadt, Thomas; Wegener, Christian. In Journal of Biological Rhythms, 36(3), pp. 271–285. 2021.
2020[ to top ]
  • A Novel Thermal-Visual Place Learning Paradigm for Honeybees (Apis mellifera). Scheiner, Ricarda; Frantzmann, Felix; Jäger, Maria; Mitesser, Oliver; Helfrich-Förster, Charlotte; Pauls, Dennis. In Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 14, p. 56. 2020.
2019[ to top ]
  • Multiple host use and the dynamics of host switching in host–parasite systems. Hovestadt, Thomas; Thomas, Jeremy A.; Mitesser, Oliver; Schönrogge, Karsten. In Insect Conservation and Diversity, 12(6), pp. 511–522. Wiley, 2019.
2018[ to top ]
  • Suitable triggers for timing the transition from worker to sexual production in annual eusocial insects. Hovestadt, T.; Degen, T.; Mitesser, O. In Insectes Sociaux. 2018.
  • Eusociality outcompetes egalitarian and solitary strategies when resources are limited and reproduction is costly. Fronhofer, Emanuel A.; Liebig, Jürgen; Mitesser, Oliver; Poethke, Hans Joachim. In Ecology and Evolution, 8(24), pp. 12953–12964. Wiley, 2018.
  • Dung beetle assemblages, dung removal and secondary seed dispersal: data from a large-scale, multi-site experiment in the Western Palaearctic. Milotić, Tanja; Baltzinger, Christophe; Eichberg, Carsten; Eycott, Amy E.; Heurich, Marco; Müller, Jörg; Noriega, Jorge A.; Menendez, Rosa; Stadler, Jutta; Ádám, Réka; Bargmann, Tessa; Bilger, Isabelle; Buse, Jörn; Calatayud, Joaquin; Ciubuc, Constantin; Boros, Gergely; Hauso, M; Jay-Robert, Pierre; Kruus, Märt; Merivee, Enno; Miessen, Geoffrey; Must, Anne; Ardali, Elham; Preda, Elena; Rahimi, Iraj; Rohwedder, Dirk; Rose, Rob; Slade, Eleanor M.; Somay, László; Tahmasebi, Pejman; Ziani, Stefano; Hoffmann, Maurice. In Frontiers of Biogeography, 10(1-2). 2018.
  • Explaining the variability in the response of annual eusocial insects to mass‐flowering events. Hovestadt, Thomas; Mitesser, Oliver; Poethke, Achim; Holzschuh, Andrea. In Journal of Animal Ecology, 88(1), A. Dussutour (ed.), pp. 178–188. Wiley, 2018.
  • Overwintering temperature and body condition shift emergence dates of spring-emerging solitary bees. Schenk, Mariela; Mitesser, Oliver; Hovestadt, Thomas; Holzschuh, Andrea. In {PeerJ}, 6, p. e4721. {PeerJ}, 2018.
  • Functionally richer communities improve ecosystem functioning: Dung removal and secondary seed dispersal by dung beetles in the Western Palaearctic. Milotić, Tanja; Baltzinger, Christophe; Eichberg, Carsten; Eycott, Amy E.; Heurich, Marco; Müller, Jörg; Noriega, Jorge A.; Menendez, Rosa; Stadler, Jutta; Ádám, Réka; Bargmann, Tessa; Bilger, Isabelle; Buse, Jörn; Calatayud, Joaquin; Ciubuc, Constantin; Boros, Gergely; Jay-Robert, Pierre; Kruus, Märt; Merivee, Enno; Miessen, Geoffrey; Must, Anne; Ardali, Elham; Preda, Elena; Rahimi, Iraj; Rohwedder, Dirk; Rose, Rob; Slade, Eleanor M.; Somay, László; Tahmasebi, Pejman; Ziani, Stefano; Hoffmann, Maurice. In Journal of Biogeography, 46(1). 2018.
  • Suitable triggers for timing the transition from worker to sexual production in annual eusocial insects. Hovestadt, T.; Degen, T.; Mitesser, O. In Insectes Sociaux, 65(4), pp. 609–617. 2018.
2017[ to top ]
  • Mating timing, dispersal and local adaptation in patchy environments. Lakovic, Milica; Mitesser, Oliver; Hovestadt, Thomas. In Oikos. 2017.
  • Saving the injured: Rescue behavior in the termite-hunting ant Megaponera analis. Frank, Erik Thomas; Schmitt, Thomas; Hovestadt, Thomas; Mitesser, Oliver; Stiegler, Jonas; Linsenmair, Karl Eduard. In Science Advances, 3(4). American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2017.
  • The evolution of simultaneous progressive provisioning revisited: extending the model to overlapping generations. Mitesser, Oliver; Poethke, Hans-Joachim; Strohm, Erhard; Hovestadt, Thomas. In Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 71(8), p. 127. 2017.
2016[ to top ]
  • The evolution of optimal emergence times: {Bet} hedging and the quest for an ideal free temporal distribution of individuals. Poethke, Hans Joachim; Hovestadt, Thomas; Mitesser, Oliver. In Oikos. 2016.
  • Annual dynamics of wild bee densities: attractiveness and productivity effects of oilseed rape. Riedinger, Verena; Mitesser, Oliver; Hovestadt, Thomas; Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf; Holzschuh, Andrea. Figshare, 2016.
2015[ to top ]
  • High female survival promotes evolution of protogyny and sexual conflict. Degen, Tobias; Hovestadt, Thomas; Mitesser, Oliver; Hölker, Franz. In PLOS ONE, 10(3), pp. 1–12. Public Library of Science, 2015.
2014[ to top ]
  • Gender-specific emigration decisions sensitive to local male and female density. Hovestadt, Thomas; Mitesser, Oliver; Poethke, Hans-Joachim. In The American Naturalist, 184(1), pp. 38–51. University of Chicago Press, 2014.
2012[ to top ]
  • Availability and depletion of fat reserves in halictid foundress queens with a focus on solitary nest founding. Weissel, N.; Mitesser, O.; Poethke, H.-J.; Strohm, E. In Insectes Sociaux, 59(1), pp. 67–74. 2012.
  • Unexpected benefit of a social parasite for a key fitness component of its ant host. Hovestadt, Thomas; Thomas, Jeremy A.; Mitesser, Oliver; Elmes, Graham W.; Schönrogge, Karsten. In The American Naturalist, 179(1), pp. 110–123. University of Chicago Press, 2012.
2011[ to top ]
  • Risk sensitivity revisited: from individuals to populations. Fronhofer, Emanuel A.; Pasurka, Henrik; Poitrineau, Karine; Mitesser, Oliver; Poethke, Hans-Joachim. In Animal Behaviour, 82(4), pp. 875–883. Elsevier BV, 2011.
2010[ to top ]
  • Correlations between sequential timing decisions do not necessarily indicate strategic behavior: A comment on Bêty et al. Schroeder, Julia; Mitesser, Oliver; Hinsch, Martin. In The American Naturalist, 176(6), pp. 835–837. University of Chicago Press, 2010.
2009[ to top ]
  • Workers, sexuals, or both? Optimal allocation of resources to reproduction and growth in annual insect colonies. Poitrineau, K.; Mitesser, O.; Poethke, H. J. In Insectes Sociaux, 56(2), pp. 119–129. 2009.
  • Effect of vegetation density, height, and connectivity on the oviposition pattern of the leaf beetle Galeruca tanaceti. Randlkofer, Barbara; Jordan, Florian; Mitesser, Oliver; Meiners, Torsten; Obermaier, Elisabeth. In Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 132(2), pp. 134–146. Wiley, 2009.
2007[ to top ]
  • The influence of soil temperature on the nesting cycle of the halictid bee Lasioglossum malachurum. Weissel, N.; Mitesser, O.; Liebig, J.; Poethke, H.-J.; Strohm, E. In Insectes Sociaux, 54(1), pp. E106-E114. 2007.
  • An Evolutionarily Stable Strategy Model for the Evolution of Dimorphic Development in the ButterflyMaculinea rebeli, a Social Parasite ofMyrmicaAnt Colonies. Hovestadt, Thomas; Mitesser, Oliver; Elmes, Graham W.; Thomas, Jeremy A.; Hochberg, Michael E. In The American Naturalist, 169(4), pp. 466–480. University of Chicago Press, 2007.
  • Adaptive dynamic resource allocation in annual eusocial insects: environmental variation will not necessarily promote graded control. Mitesser, Oliver; Weissel, Norbert; Strohm, Erhard; Poethke, Hans-Joachim. In BMC Ecology, 7(1), p. 16. 2007.
  • Host plant finding in the specialised leaf beetle Cassida canaliculata: an analysis of small-scale movement behaviour. Heisswolf, Annette; Ulmann, Sandra; Obermaier, Elisabeth; Mitesser, Oliver; Poethke, Hans Joachim. In Ecological Entomology, 32(2), pp. 194–200. Wiley, 2007.
  • Optimal investment allocation in primitively eusocial bees: a balance model based on resource limitation of the queen. Mitesser, O.; Weissel, N.; Strohm, E.; Poethke, H. J. In Insectes Sociaux, 54(3), pp. 234–241. 2007.
2006[ to top ]
  • The evolution of activity breaks in the nest cycle of annual eusocial bees: a model of delayed exponential growth. Mitesser, Oliver; Weissel, Norbert; Strohm, Erhard; Poethke, Hans-Joachim. In BMC Evolutionary Biology, 6(1), p. 45. 2006.
  • The influence of soil temperature on the nesting cycle of the halictid bee Lasioglossum malachurum. Weissel, N.; Mitesser, O.; Liebig, J.; Poethke, H. J.; Strohm, E. In Insectes Sociaux, 53(4), pp. 390–398. 2006.
2003[ to top ]
  • Local Extinction and the Evolution of Dispersal Rates: Causes and Correlations. Poethke, Hans J.; Hovestadt, Thomas; Mitesser, Oliver. In The American Naturalist, 161(4), pp. 631–640. University of Chicago Press, 2003.