Dr. Michael Staab

	Michael Staab
	phone: +49 (0) 6151 16-75416
	e-mail: michael.staab1tu-darmstadt.de
Personal website

Research

• Taxonomy and ecology of ants
• Multitrophic interaction-networks
• Conservation biology
• Tropical and subtropical biodiversity

Projects

• BEF-China
• IDENT
  
• ECOLINK - Salix
• ConFoBi subproject (B3)
  
• Research project, Elite program / Baden-Württemberg Foundation: "Sex determination and biomass allocation in response to habitat quality" 

Vita

Awards

selected Publications 

2024

• Wittmann, K., Ibrahim, M.G., Straw, A.D., Klein, A.M. & Staab, M. (2024): Monitoring fast-moving animals - building a customized camera system and evaluation toolset. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, (accepted).
• Rappa, N.J., Staab, M., Ruppert, L.S., Frey, J., Mello, M.A.R. & Klein, A.M. (2024): Forest structure and heterogeneity increase diversity and alter composition of host-parasitoid networks. Ecological Entomology 49: 257-271. Link

2023

• Li, Y., Schmid, B., Schuldt, A. Li, S., Wang, M.Q., Fornoff, F., Staab, M., Guo, P.F., Anttonen, P., Chester, D., Bruelheide, H., Zhu, C.D., Ma, K. & Liu, X. (2023): Multitrophic arthropod diversity mediates tree diversity effects on primary productivity. Nature Ecology & Evolution 7: 832-840. Link
• Ruppert, L.S., Staab, M., Klingenfuß, S. Rappa, N.J., Frey, J. & Segelbacher, G. (2023): Leaf litter arthropods show little response to structural retention in a Central European forest. Biodiversity and Conservation 32: 3973-3990. Link
• Wittmann, K., Klein, A.M. & Staab, M. (2023): The influence of habitat properties on sex determination in cavity-nesting Hymenoptera. Basic and Applied Ecology 70: 1-11. Link
  
• Schuldt, A., Liu, X., Buscot, F., Bruelheide, H., Erfmeier, A., He, J.S., Klein, A.M., Ma, K., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Schmid, B., Scholten, T., Tang, Z., Trogisch, S., Wirth, C., Wubet, T. & Staab, M. (2023): Carbon-biodiversity relationships in a highly diverse subtropical forest. Global Change Biology 29: 5321-5333. Link
• Rappa, N.J., Staab, M., Rupert, L.S., Frey, J., Bauhus, J. & Klein, A.M (2023): Structural elements enhanced by retention forestry promote forest and non-forest specialist bees and wasps. Forest Ecology and Management 529: 120709. Link (Corrigendum)
• Timóteo, S., Albrecht, J., Rumeu, B., Norte, A. C., Traveset, A., Frost, C. M., Marchante, E., López-Núñez, F. A., Peralta, G., Memmott, J., Olesen, J. M., Costa, J. M., da Silva, L. P., Carvalheiro, L. G., Correia, M., Staab, M., Blüthgen, N., Farwig, N., Hervías-Parejo, S. & Heleno, R. (2023): Tripartite networks show that keystone species can multitask. Functional Ecology 37: 274-286. Link

2022

• Tang, T., Zhang, N., Bongers, F., Staab, M., Schuldt, A., Fornoff, F., Lin, H.; Cavender-Bares, J., Hipp, A., Li, S., Liang, Y., Han, B., Klein, A.M., Bruelheide, H., Durka, W., Schmid, B., Ma, K. & Liu, X. (2022): Tree species and genetic diversity increase productivity via functional diversity and trophic feedbacks. eLife 11: e78703. Link
• Rappa, N.J., Staab, M., Frey, J., Winiger, N. & Klein, A.M. (2022): Multiple forest structural elements are needed to promote beetle biomass, diversity and abundance. Forest Ecosystems 9: e100056. Link

2021

• Fornoff, F., Staab, M., Zhu, C.D. & Klein, A.M. (2021): Multi-trophic communities re-establish with canopy cover and microclimate in a subtropical forest biodiversity experiment. Oecologia 196: 289-301. Link
• Zumstein, P., Bruelheide, H., Fichtner, A., Schuldt, A., Staab, M., Härdtle, W., Zhao, H. & Assmann, T. (2021): What shapes ground beetle assemblages in a tree species-rich subtropical forest? ZooKeys 1044: 907-927. Link
• Guo, P.F., Wand, M.Q., Orr, M., Li, Y., Chen, J.T., Zhou, Q.S., Staab, M., Fornoff, F., Chen, G.H., Zhang, N.L., Klein, A.M., Zhu, C.D. (2021): Tree diversity promotes predatory wasps and parasitoids but not pollinator bees in a subtropical experimental forest. Basic and Applied Ecology 53: 134-142. Link
• Wu, D., Staab, M. & Yu, M. (2021): Canopy closure retards fine wood decomposition in subtropical regenerating forests. Ecosystems 24: 1875-1890. Link
• Staab, M., Liu, X.J., Assmann, T., Bruelheide, H., Buscot, F., Durka, W., Erfmeier, A., Klein, A.M., Ma, K., Michalski, S., Wubet, T., Schmid, B. & Schuldt, A. (2021): Tree phylogenetic diversity structures multitrophic communities. Functional Ecology 35: 521-534. Link
• Wu, D., Pietsch, K.A., Staab, M. & Yu, M. (2021): Wood species identity alters dominant factors driving fine wood decomposition along a tree diversity gradient in subtropical plantation forests. Biotropica 53: 643-657. Link
• Poeydebat, C., Jactel, H., Moreira, X., Koricheva, J., Barsoum, N., Bauhus, J., Eisenhauer, N., Ferlian, O., Francisco, M., Gottschall, F., Gravel, D., Mason, B., Muiruri, E., Muys, B., Nock, C., Paquette, A., Ponette, Q., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Stokes, V., Staab, M., Verheyen, K. & Castagneyrol, B. (2021): Climate affects neighbour-induced changes in leaf chemical defences and tree diversity-herbivory relationships. Functional Ecology 35: 67-81. Link

 2020

• Knuff, A., Staab, M., Frey, J., Dorman, C.F., Asbeck, T. & Klein, A.M. (2020): Insect abundance in managed forests benefits from multi-layered vegetation. Basic and Applied Ecology 48: 124-135. Link
• Staab, M., Pereira-Peixoto, M.H. & Klein, A.M. (2020): Exotic garden plants partly substitute for native plants as resources for pollinators when native plants become seasonally scarce. Oecologia 194: 465-480. Link
• Staab, M. & Schuldt, A. (2020): The Influence of Tree Diversity on Natural Enemies—a Review of the “Enemies” Hypothesis in Forests. Current Forestry Reports 6: 243-259. Link
• Wang, M.-Q., Li, Y., Chester, D., Bruelheide, H., Ma, K., Guo, P.-F., Zhou, Q.-S., Staab, M., Zhu, C.-D. & Schuldt, A. (2020): Host functional and phylogenetic composition rather than host diversity structure plant–herbivore networks. Molecular Ecology 29: 2747-2762. Link
• Skarbek, C.J., Noack, M., Bruelheide, H., Härdtle, W., von Oheimb, G., Scholten, T., Seitz, S. & Staab, M. (2020): A tale of scale: Plot but not neighbourhood tree diversity increases leaf litter ant diversity. Journal of Animal Ecology 89: 299-308. Link
• Storch, I., Penner, J., Asbeck, T., Baile, M., Bauhus, J., Braunisch, V., Dormann, C., Frey, J., Gärtner, S., Hanewinkel, M., Koch, B., Klein, A.M., Kuss, T., Pregernig, M., Pyttel, P., Reif, A., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Segelbacher, G., Schraml, U., Staab, M., Winkel, G. & Yousefpour, R. (2020): Evaluating the effectiveness of retention forestry to enhance biodiversity in production forests of Central Europe using an interdisciplinary, multi-scale approach. Ecology and Evolution 10: 1489-1509. Link
• Bongers, F., Schmid, B., Sun, Z., Li, Y., Härdtle, W., von Oheimb, G., Li, Y., Li, S., Staab, M., Ma, K. & Liu, X. (2020): Growth–trait relationships in subtropical forest are stronger at higher diversity. Journal of Ecology 108: 256-266.  Link

2019

• Staab, M. (2019): Plagiolepis alluaudi Emery, 1894, a globally spreading exotic ant (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) newly recorded from Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain). Journal of Hymenoptera Research 74: 83-91. Link
• Von Königslöw, V., Klein, A.M., Staab, M. & Pufal, G. (2019): Benchmarking nesting aids for cavity-nesting bees and wasps. Biodiversity and Conservation 28: 3831-3849. Link
• Knuff, A., Winiger, N., Klein, A.M., Segelbacher, G. & Staab, M. (2019): Optimising sampling of flying insects using a modified window trap. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 10: 1820-1825. Link
• Knuff, A., Staab, M., Frey, J., Helbach, J. & Klein, A.M. (2019): Plant composition, not richness, drives occurrence of specialist herbivores. Ecological Entomology 44: 833-843. Link
• Schuldt, A., Ebeling, A., Kunz, M., Staab, M., Guimarães-Steinicke, C., Bachmann, D., Buchmann, N., Durka, W., Fichtner, A., Fornoff, F., Härdtle, W., Hertzog, L., Klein, A.M., Roscher, C., Schaller, J., von Oheimb, G., Weigelt, A., Weisser, W., Wirth, C., Zhang, J., Bruelheide, H. & Eisenhauer, N. (2019): Multiple plant diversity components drive consumer communities across ecosystems. Nature Communications 10: 1460. Link
• Fornoff, F., Klein, A.M., Blüthgen, N. & Staab, M. (2019): Tree diversity increases robustness of multi-trophic interactions. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 286: 20182399. Link
• Pauli, T., Castillo-Cajas, R.F., Rosa, P., Kukowka, S., Berg, A., van den Berghe, E., Fornoff, F., Hopfenmüller, S., Niehuis, M., Peters, R.S., Staab, M., Strumia, F., Tischendorf, S., Schmitt, T. & Niehuis, O. (2019): Phylogenetic analysis of cuckoo wasps (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae) reveals a partially artificial classification at the genus level and a species-rich clade of bee parasitoids. Systematic Entomology 44: 322-355. Link

2018

• Staab, M., Pufal, G., Tscharntke, T. & Klein, A.M. (2018): Trap nests for bees and wasps to analyse trophic interactions in changing environments - a systematic overview and user guide.  Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9: 2226-2239. Link
  
• Liu, X., Trogisch, S., He, J.S., Niklaus, P.A., Bruelheide, H., Tang, Z., Erfmeier, A., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Pietsch, K.A., Yang, B., Kühn, P., Scholten, T., Huang, Y., Wang, C., Staab, M., Leppert, K., Wirth, C., Schmid, B. & Ma, K. (2018): Tree species richness increases ecosystem carbon storage in subtropical forests. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 285: 20181240. Link
• Schuldt, A., Assmann, T., Brezzi, M., Buscot, F., Eichenberg, D., Gutknecht, J., Härdtle, W., He, J.S., Klein, A.M., Kühn, P., Liu, X., Ma, K., Niklaus, P.A., Pietsch, K.A., Purahong, W., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Schmid, B., Scholten, T., Staab, M., Tang, Z., Trogisch, S., von Oheimb, G., Wirth, C., Wubet, T., Zhu, C.D. & Bruelheide, H. (2018): Biodiversity across trophic levels drives multifunctionality in highly diverse forests. Nature Communications 9: 2989. Link
• Binkenstein, J., Klein, A.M., Assmann, T., Buscot, F., Erfmeier, A., Ma, K., Pietsch, K.A., Schmidt, K., Scholten, T., Wubet, T., Bruelheide, H., Schuldt, A. & Staab, M. (2018): Multi-trophic guilds respond differently to changing elevation in a subtropical forest. Ecography 41: 1013-1023. Link
• Staab, M., Hita Garcia, F., Liu, C., Xu, Z.H. & Economo, E.P. (2018): Systematics of the ant genus Proceratium Roger (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Proceratiinae) in China - with descriptions of three new species based on micro-CT enhanced next-generation-morphology. ZooKeys 770: 137-192. Link
• Janssen, A., Hunger, H., Konold, W., Pufal, G. & Staab, M. (2018): Simple pond restoration measures increase dragonfly (Insecta: Odonata) diversity. Biodiversity and Conservation 27: 2311-2328.  Link
• Cao, H., Klein, A.M., Zhu, C.-D., Staab, M., Durka, W., Fischer, M. & Fornoff, F. (2018): Intra- and interspecific tree diversity promotes multitrophic plant–Hemiptera–ant interactions in a forest diversity experiment. Basic and Applied Ecology 29: 89-97. Link
• Grossman, J.J., Vanhellemont, M., Barsoum, N., Bauhus, J., Bruelheide, H., Castagneyrol, B., Cavender-Bares, J., Eisenhauer, N., Ferlian, O., Gravel, D., Hector, A., Jactel, H., Kreft, H., Mereu, S., Messier, C., Muys, B., Nock, C., Paquette, A., Parker, J., Perring, M.P., Ponette, Q., Reich, P.B., Schuldt, A., Staab, M., Weih, M., Zemp, D.C., Scherer-Lorenzen, M. & Verheyen, K. (2018): Synthesis and future research directions linking tree diversity to growth, survival, and damage in a global network of tree diversity experiments. Environmental and Experimental Botany 152: 68-89. Link
• Müller, M., Klein, A.M., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Nock, C.A. & Staab, M. (2018): Tree genetic diversity increases arthropod diversity in willow short rotation coppice. Biomass and Bioenergy 108: 338-344. Link

2017

• Trogisch, S., [...], Klein, A.M., [...], Staab, M., et al. & Bruelheide H. (2017): Towards a methodical framework for comprehensively assessing forest multifunctionality. Ecology and Evolution 7: 10652-10674. Link
• Schuldt, A., Fornoff, F., Bruelheide, H., Klein, A.M. & Staab, M. (2017): Tree species richness attenuates the positive relationship between mutualistic ant-hemipteran interactions and leaf chewer herbivory. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 284: 20171489. Link
• Schuldt, A., Bruelheide, H., Assmann, T., Buscot, F., Erfmeier, A., Klein, A.M., Ma, K., Scholten, T., Staab, M., Wirth, C., Zhang, J. & Wubet, T. (2017): Belowground top-down and aboveground bottom-up effects structure multitrophic communities in a biodiverse forest. Scientific Reports 7: 4222. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-04619-3. Link
• Staab, M., Fornoff, F., Klein, A.M. & Blüthgen, N. (2017): Ants at plant wounds - A little-known trophic interaction with evolutionary implications for ant-plant interactions. American Naturalist 190: 442-450. Link
• Staab, M., Methorst, J., Peters, J., Blüthgen, N. & Klein, A.M. (2017): Tree diversity and nectar composition affect arthropod visitors on extrafloral nectaries in a diversity experiment. Journal of Plant Ecology 10: 201-212 . Link

2016

• Wein, A., Bauhus, J., Bilodeau-Gauthier, S., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Nock, C. & Staab, M. (2016): Tree species richness promotes invertebrate herbivory on congeneric native and exotic tree saplings in a young diversity experiment. PLOS ONE 11: 0168751. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168751. Link
• Staab, M., Bruelheide, H., Durka, W., Michalski, S., Purschke, O., Zhu C.D. & Klein, A.M. (2016): Tree phylogenetic diversity promotes host-parasitoid interactions. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 283: 20160275. Link
• Peixoto-Pereira, M.H., Pufal, G., Staab, M., Martins, C.F. & Klein, A.M. (2016): Diversity and specificity of host-natural enemy interactions in an urban-rural interface. Ecological Entomology 41: 241-252. Link

2015

• Schuldt, A., Wubet, T., Buscot, F., Staab, M., Assmann, T., Böhnke-Kammerlander, M., Both, S., Erfmeier, A., Klein, A.M., Ma, K., Pietsch, K., Schultze, S., Wirth, C., Zhang, J., Zumstein, P. & Bruelheide, H. (2015): Multitrophic diversity in a biodiverse forest is highly nonlinear across spatial scales. Nature Communications 6: 10169. Link
• Staab, M. (2015): Aenictus hoelldobleri sp. n., a new species of the Aenictus ceylonicus group (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from China, with a key to the Chinese members of the group. ZooKeys 516: 137-155. Link
• Staab, M., Ohl, M., Zhu, C.D. & Klein, A.M. (2015): Observational natural history and morphological taxonomy are indispensable for future challenges in biodiversity and conservation. Communicative and Integrative Biology 8: e992745. doi:10.4161/19420889.2014.992745 Link

• Schuldt, A. & Staab, M. (2015): Tree species richness strengthens relationships between ants and the functional composition of spider assemblages in a highly diverse forest. Biotropica 47: 339-346. Link
• Staab, M., Blüthgen, N. & Klein, A.M. (2015): Tree diversity alters the structure of a tri-trophic network in a biodiversity experiment. Oikos 124: 827-834. Link

2014

• Staab, M., Schuldt, A., Assmann, T., Bruelheide, H. & Klein, A.M. (2014): Ant community structure during forest succession in a subtropical forest in South-East China. Acta Oecologica 61: 32-40. Link
• Staab, M., Ohl, M., Zhu, CD. & Klein, A.M. (2014): A unique nest-protection strategy in a new species of spider wasp. PLOS ONE 9: e101592. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0101592. Link (highlighted in Nature 10.07.2014) Link
• Staab, M., Schuldt, A., Assmann, T. & Klein, A.M. (2014): Tree diversity promotes predator but not omnivore ants in a subtropical Chinese forest. Ecological Entomology 39: 637-647.  Link
  
• Floren, A., Wetzel, W. & Staab, M. (2014): The contribution of canopy species to overall ant diversity (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in temperate and tropical ecosystems. Myrmecological News 19: 65-74. Link
• Staab, M. (2014): The first observation of honeydew foraging in army ants since 1933: Aenictus hodgsoni Forel, 1901 tending Eutrichosiphum heterotrichum (Raychaudhuri, 1956) in Southeast China. Asian Myrmecology 6: 115-118.  Link
• Staab, M. (2014): A new species of the Aenictus wroughtonii group (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from South-East China. ZooKeys 391: 65-73. Link
• Staab, M. & Kleineidam, C.J. (2014): Initiation of swarming behavior and synchronization of mating flights in the leaf-cutting ant Atta vollenweideri. FOREL, 1893 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecological News 19: 93-102. Link

2012

• Menzel, F., Staab, M., Chung, A.Y., Gebauer, G. & Blüthgen, N. (2012): Trophic ecology of parabiotic ants: Do the partners have similar food niches? Austral Ecology 37: 537-546.  Link