Jan Schlautmann

Research interest: Seed dispersal, Plant regeneration, Seed deposition network, Land-use

 The degradation of natural ecosystems changes the interactions between species, which form the basis of ecosystem processes. In the course of my dissertation I research the impact of logging on seed-dispersal of fleshy-fruited plants by frugivores. For this purpose I collect excreted seeds and determine the disperser to the species level. Most mammal scats can by visually assigned to a disperser species. The disperer species of the remaining mammal scats and of all bird scats will be determined by barcoding. This allows for the construction of seed deposition networks, which will be compared to seed removal networks. Additionally, it is possible to relate the microhabitat of a deposited seed to the frugivore. My studies are conducted in the Białowieża-Nationalpark and adjacent forests with forestry activities in Eastern Poland.