MIE welcomes Teresa Quijano Medina

Diesen Text gibt es nur auf Englisch. My research interests focus on insect ecology. Following the line of my experience, I joined iDiv looking to include my knowledge on important interactions belowground. Nicole Van Dam and Ainhoa Martinez have developed a research focused on belowground microbes and its impact on further trophic levels, including insect herbivores and its enemies. In this way, this research will study complex communities above- and belowground in a realistic fashion study. I am in charge of the behavioral experiments for insects. In a first step I will look how the herbivores performed with tomato plants under different soil microbes. In a further step, I will include the herbivore’s enemies to uncover the indirect relationship between belowground microbes and aboveground insects. These experiments will include preference essays, herbivore performance’s measurements and rearing of the insects. I’m looking forward to meet the results.