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Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology

Press release

Dörfer sind als Lebensraum für bestäubende Insekten noch wenig erforscht – dabei bieten sie viel Potenzial.

Villages can provide important habitats for insects. A new study by the University of Würzburg shows which areas in rural settlements are particularly rich in species – and where there is still room for improvement.

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The forest dung beetle Anoplotrupes stercorosus acts as the ‘health police’ in the forest. It buries the feces of other animals, thereby inhibiting the spread of parasites and bringing nutrients into the forest soil.

Researchers at the University of Würzburg have shown that dung beetles suffer in canopy openings that have been deliberately created to promote biodiversity. Rising temperatures are significantly exacerbating the problem.

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Students at the University of Würzburg can spend one to three semesters in Norway at the University of Bergen as part of the new double degree master's program. A total of seven mountains surround the coastal city.

The Universities of Würzburg and Bergen have launched a new degree program. Students of the new Master of Global Change Ecology can look forward to two degrees and several semesters abroad.

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Carpenter ants are not squeamish when it comes to caring for the wounded. To minimise the risk of infection, the insects immediately amputate injured legs – thereby more than doubling their survival rate.

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Pascal Bunk sits in the campus garden.

Walks around the Würzburg Hubland campus with University Chancellor Uwe Klug, with the "Living Campus" initiative or with students in the campus garden: A total of 20 new short films deal with sustainability at the university.

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Honeybees at a beehive.

For honeybees to overwinter successfully, several factors must work together. Researchers at the University of Würzburg have now identified a crucial one: The more diverse the diet, the greater the chances of survival.

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Among the animal and plant species studied: carabids (top left), the sac spider (bottom left), common sickle grasshopper (top right), the rare vinegar-rose soft bug and the vinegar rose.

Shrub fringes on the edges of forests and fields protect animal species and have a positive effect on biodiversity: This was reported by a research team from the University of Würzburg.

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What measures are suitable for providing better living conditions for insects in typical Franconian landscapes? This question was investigated by a research team from the University of Würzburg. The results are now available.

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