Curriculum vitae

from 12/2025 Researcher in the Landscape and Vegetation Ecology Research Group, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart.
04/2024 - 11/2025 PostDoc in the Research Unit For3000 on chemodiversity of plants with Robert R. Junker, Philipps-University, Marburg.
12/2023 PhD (with distinction) in Biosciences , Deciphering Multidiversity - Multitrophic interactions underlie multidiversity patterns in a developing high alpine ecosystem.
find the thesis here
01/2024 - 10/2022 Connectivity Conservation Strategist in the Department of Biodiversity and Natural Resources, Bavarian Ministry of the Environment, Munich.
09/2022 - 04/2019 PhD-Student in the Functional Community Ecology research group of Robert. R. Junker, Paris-Lodron-University Salzburg. FWF-funded START-project Successional Generation of Functional Multidiversity
03/2019 - 08/2018 Researcher in the Terrestrial Ecology research group of Wolfgang W. Weisser at Technical University Munich. Project Animal Aided Design.
07/2018 M.Sc. (with distinction) Environmental Planning and Ecosystem Engineering; Technical University Munich.
07/2018 - 04/2015 M.Sc. Student Environmental Planning and Ecosystem Engineering; Technical University Munich, Germany. Master Thesis in the Plant Biodiversity research group of Hanno Schaefer under co-supervision of Jairo Patiño at the Island Plant Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Lab, La Laguna University, Tenerife.
03/2015 - 04/2011 B.Sc. Geography, University of Augsburg, Germany
Fire salamander looking directly into the camera, photographed during fieldwork on biodiversity in alpine ecosystems

Peer-reviewed publications

  • [16] Hanusch, M., Dötterl, S., Larue-Kontic, A., Keller, A. & Junker, R. R. (2025). Floral scent chemodiversity is associated with high floral visitor but low bacterial richness on flowers. New Phytologist 0:e01227-24.
  • [15] Hanusch, M. (2025). The limits of co-occurrence for inferring species interactions. (Invited contribution to Journal Club section) Nature Reviews Biodiversity
  • [14] Hanusch, M. (2025). Vegetation structural complexity uniquely captures competition between vascular plants and bryophytes over succession. Journal of Ecology
  • [13] Hemmer, S., Hanusch, M., Bachmann, M. (2025). Freiflächen-Photovoltaikanlagen bieten der Feldlerche Alauda arvensis keinen (Ersatz-)Lebensraum. Anliegen Natur 47(2): 55–64
  • [12] Hanusch, M., He, X., Böll, L. & Junker, R. R. (2024). Testing the sequence of successional processes in miniature ecosystems. Microbiology Spectrum 0:e01227-24.
  • [11] He, X., Hanusch, M., Böll, L., Lach, A., Seifert, T. & Junker, R. R. (2024). Adding experimental precision to the realism of field observations: Plant communities structure bacterial communities in a glacier forefield. Environmental Microbiology , 26(2), e16590.
  • [10] He, X., Hanusch, M., Saueressig, L., Schriever, A., Seifert, T., Villhauer, H., ... & Junker, R. R. (2023). Tracking succession by means of 3D scans of plant communities in a glacier forefield to infer assembly processes. Oikos , e10095.
  • [9] Hanusch, M., He, X., Janssen, S., Selke, J., Trutschnig, W. & Junker, R. R. (2023). Exploring the Frequency and Distribution of Ecological Non-monotonicity in Associations among Ecosystem Constituents. Ecosystems , 1-22.
  • [8] He, X., Hanusch, M., Ruiz-Hernández, V. & Junker, R. R. (2022) Accuracy of mutual predictions of plant and microbial communities vary along a successional gradient in an alpine glacier forefield. Frontiers in Plant Science , 13, 5595.
  • [7] Hanusch, M., He, X., Ruiz-Hernández, V. & Junker, R. R. (2022) Succession comprises a sequence of threshold-induced community assembly processes towards multidiversity. Communications Biology 5, 424.
  • [6] Sweet, F. S., Apfelbeck, B., Hanusch, M., Garland Monteagudo, C. & Weisser, W. W. (2022). Data from public and governmental databases show that a large proportion of the regional animal species pool occur in cities in Germany. Journal of Urban Ecology , 8(1), juac002.
  • [5] Junker, R. R., He, X., Otto, J. C., Ruiz-Hernández, V. & Hanusch, M. (2021). Divergent assembly processes? A comparison of the plant and soil microbiome with plant communities in a glacier forefield. FEMS microbiology ecology , 97(10), fiab135.
  • [4] Junker, R. R., Hanusch, M., He, X., Ruiz-Hernández, V., Otto, J. C., Kraushaar, S., Bauch, K., Griessenberger, F., Ohler, L. & Trutschnig, W. (2020). Ödenwinkel: an Alpine platform for observational and experimental research on the emergence of multidiversity and ecosystem complexity. Web Ecology , 20(2), 95-106.
  • [3] Hanusch, M., Ortiz, E. M., Patiño, J. & Schaefer, H. (2020). Biogeography and integrative taxonomy of Epipterygium (Mniaceae, Bryophyta). Taxon , 69(6), 1150-1171.
  • [2] Apfelbeck, B., Jakoby, C., Hanusch, M., Steffani, E. B., Hauck, T. E. & Weisser, W. W. (2019). A conceptual framework for choosing target species for wildlife-inclusive urban design. Sustainability , 11(24), 6972.
  • [1] Bretzel, J., Endriß, T., Halbinger, F., Hanusch, M., Hege, R., Krömmüller, I., ... & Schaefer, H. (2018). Additions to the checklist of terrestrial biodiversity of Cabo Verde. Zoologia Caboverdiana 7, 2, 28–38

Other publications

Policy publications

Public outreach

Authorship of plant taxa

Epipterygium atlanticum     Hanusch in Taxon, 69(6), 1150-1171
Epipterygium biauritum       Hanusch in Taxon, 69(6), 1150-1171
Epipterygium oreophilum   Hanusch in Taxon, 69(6), 1150-1171
Epipterygium yunnanense  Hanusch in Taxon, 69(6), 1150-1171
Fly pollinating a Campanula flower, illustrating alpine plant–pollinator interactions in chemodiversity / chemical ecology research

Talks

  • GfÖ Meeting, Würzburg, Germany (2025): Chemodiversity as part of the Plant Economics Spectrum
  • GfÖ Meeting, Freising, Germany (2024): Exploring the influence of floral chemodiversity on alpine plant-microbe-pollinator dynamics
  • OECMs in Europe workshop, Vilm, Germany (2023): OECMS as an important tool to improve landscape connectivity in Bavaria, Germany
  • GfÖ Meeting, Braunschweig, Germany (2021): Succession comprises a sequence of threshold-induced community assembly processes towards multidiversity
  • Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Seminar, Marburg, Germany Invited by Robert. R. Junker (2021): Succession comprises a sequence of threshold-induced community assembly processes towards multidiversity
  • FloraMac Conference, Funchal, Madeira (2018): Integrative Taxonomy reveals new Macaronesian bryohphyte species
  • iMoss Conference, St. Petersburg, USA (2018): Biogeography and integrative taxonomy of Epipterygium (Mniaceae, Bryophyta)

Poster

Volcano Teide on Tenerife, Canary Islands, photographed during fieldwork sampling bryophytes for biogeography research

Teaching and supervisory experience

Teaching Philosophy

Grounded in my own journey as an ecologist, I believe that effective learning involves both searching for answers and encouraging students to ask their own questions — just as my mentors once inspired me to stay curious. Whether in the field, the lab, or the classroom, my aim is to nurture a culture in which students feel empowered to ask, explore, and connect ideas in order to gain a holistic understanding of ecological systems.

Designed, coordinated, and taught
Scientific Methods and Communication (Salzburg, 2022)
Contributed lectures to
Statistics and Experimental Design (Marburg, 2025)
Machine Learning and Multivariate Statistics in Community Ecology (Marburg, 2024)
Assisted as student helper
Ecology, Evolution and Systematics of Plants (Salzburg, 2019–2021)
Bryophyte Diversity and Evolution (Munich, 2017–2018)
Plant Systematics and Identification (Munich, 2016–2018)
Co-supervision of students
Therese Ziegler (Master Thesis, 2024) — Global assessment of ecological nonmonotonicity in bacterial associations
Cynthia Garland Monteagudo (Master Thesis, 2018) — Bird Species in German Cities: An assessment with publicly available data
Vegetation relevé in front of a glacier tongue, documenting alpine succession and plant community development