Kontaktul. Lwowska 1, 87-100 Toruń
e-mail: dwnbiw@umk.pl
Katedra Ekologii i Biogeografii [fot. Katedra Ekologii i Biogeografii]

Prof. Werner Ulrich

 

Prof. dr hab. Werner Ulrich

Telefon: (56) 611 2508, 611 2505
E-mail: ulrichw@umk.pl
Pokój: C266

ResearcherID: A-6582-2013
Researchgate
Google Scholar

Zainteresowania badawcze

My early entomological interest in the ecology and biogeography of parasitic Hymenoptera confronted me with the necessity to develop analytical tools to understand patterns of diversity and distribution from local to continental scales. Therefore I turned to ecological statistics and became particularly interested in patterns of species co-occurrence and phylogenetic constraints. In cooperation with friends from USA, Brazil, and Spain we developed a number of sophisticated statistical tools in macroecology and clarified basic questions around community assembly. In cooperation with international ecological consortia from Europe, the USA, and Japan we use large scale data sets and apply our techniques to understand the spatial distributions of plant and animal species and the pattern of community assembly at trait and environmental levels.

Badania

 

Publikacje

 

  1. Ulrich W., Gross P., Schmidt T., Teucher M., Habel J.-C. 2026. Mismatches in the occurrence of endangered butterflies and macro-moths inside and outside nature reserves in Northern Austria. Insect Conservation and Diversity 19: 438–451. https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.70032
  2. Habel, J.C., Trusch, R., Karbiener, O., Schmitt, T., Ulrich, W. 2026. Losses of specialist and expansion of thermophilic generalist macro-moths in nature reserves of Central Europe. Biological Conservaion. 314: 111646. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111646 
  3. Ulrich, W., Matthews, T.J., Biurrun, I., Aleksanyan, A., Borovyk, D., Burrascano, S… Pielech, R., Vynokurov, D., Puchałka, R., 2026. The proper middle class: assessing the importance of subordinate species on plant community assembly and functional diversity. Oikos 2026, e11572. https://doi.org/10.1002/oik.11572
  4. Habel, J.C., Ulrich W., Segerer A.H., Greifenstein T., Knubben J., Morinière  J., Günter A., Schmitt T., Hausmann, A. 2025. Organic farming fosters arthropod diversity of important insect guilds. Cons. Gen. 26: 847-857. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-025-01707-0
  5. Ulrich W., Gross, P., Schmidt, T., Habel J.-C. 2025. Altitudinal distributions of endangered butterflies in the Austrian Alps. Biological Conservation. 306: 111129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111129
  6. Habel, J.C., Teucher, M., Eberle, J., Rainer, M., Schröcker, M., Ulrich, W. 2025. Ecosystem functions in East African forest and agro-environments depend on site-specific microhabitat conditions. Biotropica, e70042. https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.70042
  7. Gołembiewski, M., Sikora, M. Mazur, J., Szymańska, S., Tyburski, J., Hrynkiewicz, K., Ulrich W. 2025. Random mechanisms govern bacterial succession in bioinoculated beet plants. Scientific Reports. 15: 10734. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-92688-0
  8. Njuguna, L.N., Ulrich, W., Mwakumanya, M.A., Chiyo, P., Habel, J.C., 2025. Effects of elephants on seed dispersal and germination of Balanites maughamii in an East African dry coastal forest. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 144(15), https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blaf015 
  9. Bucher R., Batáry P., Baudry J., Beaumelle L., Čerevková A., de la Riva E., Aziz Djoudi E., Dirilgen T., Gallé R., Kesse-Guyot E., O’Reilly A., Rembiałkowska E., Rusch A., Smith H.G., Stanley D., Robert S., Ulrich W., Birkhofer K. 2025. Land use impacts on crop yield: direct and indirect roles of biodiversity and ecosystem services in European farmlands. Landscape Ecology. 40: 97. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-025-02117-w
  10. Habel, J.C., Huemer, P., Schmitt, T.H., Rüdisser, J., Ulrich, W. 2025. Strengths and shortcomings of citizen science data: lessons from Austrian butterflies. Journal of Insect Conservation. 29: 60. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-025-00696-2
  11. Ulrich W., Borges P.A.V., Fattorini S., ter Steege H., Gotelli N.J., Magurran A., Marquet P.A., Schrader J., Matthews T.J. 2025. Species and trait abundance distributions as tools for understanding disturbance effects and community assembly in applied ecology. J. Appl. Ecol. 62: 2096-2110. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.70140 
  12. Habel, J.C., Huemer, P., Schmitt, T.H., Rüdisser, J., Gros, P., Ulrich, W. 2025. Selective observation causes differences in citizen science butterfly data. Basic and Applied  Ecology 87: 46-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2025.06.003
  13. Ulrich, W., Schmitt, T., Gros, P., Habel, J.C. 2025. Intra – and inter-specific variability in the temporal trends of butterfly phenology in the Northern Alps. Insect Conservation and Diversity. 2024: 1–9, https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.12789
  14. Ulrich W., Schmitt, T., Gros, P., Habel J.C. 2025. Phenological plasticity alters community structures of mountain Lepidoptera. Oecologia 207: 165. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-025-05809-x
  15. Neal, Z., Berger, A., Butterfield, B., Garlaschelli, D., Gotelli, N.J., Saracco, F., Sqartini, T., Shutters, S.T., Ulrich, W., Wang, G., Strona, G. 2024. Pattern detection in bipartite networks: a review of terminology, applications and methods. Complex Systems. 1: eooooo10, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcsy.0000010 (IF= 0.5, MNiSW= 20)
  16. Habel, J.C., Gibru, A., Mulwa, M., Deffersha, H.A., Addisu, S., Teucher, M, Schmitt, T., Ulrich, W. 2025. Unique bird diversity in an Ethiopian church forest. Biodiversity and Conservation. 34:3163–3173, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-024-02842-9 (IF= 3.0, MNiSW= 100)
  17. Ulrich, W., Schmitt T., Gros, P., Habel, J.C. 2024. Increasing population stability of northern Austrian Lepidoptera populations over three decades. Ecological Entomology. 1(11), https://doi.org/10.1111/een.13404
  18. Bucher, R., Batáry, P., Baudry, J., Beaumelle, L., Čerevková, A., de la Riva, E. G., Dirilgen, T., Gallé, R., Kesse-Guyot, E., […], Ulrich, W., […]. 2024. Functional diversity of ground beetles improved aphid control but did not increase crop yields on European farms. Ecological Applications. 34(8): e3035, https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.3035
  19. Matthews, T., Triantis, K. A., Wayman, J. P., Martin, T. E., Hume, J. P., Cardoso, P., Faurby, S., Mendenhall, Ch. D., Dufour, P., Rigal, F., […] Ulrich, W., […], 2024. The global loss of avian functional and phylogenetic diversity from anthropogenic extinctions. Science (New York, N.Y.). 386 (6717): 55 – 60, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adk7898
  20. Löckinger, M., Trutschnig, W., Ulrich, W., Gros, P., Schmitt, T., Habel, J. C. 2024. Ecological performance determines phenological responses of butterflies in Northern Austria. Global Ecology and Conservation. 54: e03114, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2024.e03114
  21. Ulrich, W., Gotelli N. J., Strona, G., Godsoe, W. 2024. Reconsidering the Price equation: Benchmarking the analytical power of additive partitioning in ecology. Ecological Modelling. 491:110695,  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2024.110695
  22. Ulrich, W., Habel, J.C., Gros, P., Schmitt, T. 2024. Recent increasing homogenisation in Austrian butterfly communities over the past decades. Oikos. 2024 (4), nr: e10179 https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.10179 
  23. Ulrich, W., Sfenthourakis, S., Strona, G., Gotelli, N.J. 2024. ‘Null model analyses are not adequate to summarise strong associations: Rebuttal to Ulrich et al. (2022)’ by Mainali & Slud (2023). Journal of Biogeography. 51 (4), 597 – 598 https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.14772
  24. Habel, J.C., Mulwa, M., Wagner, L. Schmitt, T., Teucher, M., Ulrich, W., 2024. Diverging responses to natural and anthropogenic habitats in aftrotropical birds and butterflies. Biodiversity and Conservation. 33 (3), 971 – 985, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-023-02762-0
  25. Habel, J.C., Ulrich, W., Gros, P., Mike, T. 2024. Butterfly loss in urban landscapes and nature reserves. Journal for Nature Conservation. 78, nr: 126562, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2024.126562
  26. Habel, J.C., Schmitt, T., Gros, P., Ulrich, W. 2024. Active around the year: Butterflies and moths adapt their life cycles to a warming world. Global Change Biology. 30 (1), nr: e17103, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17103
  27. Habel, J.C., Schmitt, T., Ulrich, W., Gros, P., Salcher, B., Teucher, M. 2023. Landscape homogenisation and simplified butterfly community structure go on par across Northern Austria. Landscape Ecology. 38 (12), 3237 – 3248 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-023-01785-w
  28. Habel, J.C., Ulrich, W., Segerer, A.H., Greifenstein, T., […] 2023. Insect diversity in heterogeneous agro-environments of Central Europe. Biodiversity and Conservation. 32 (14), Pages 4665 – 4678, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-023-02717-5
  29. Hahs, A.K., Fournier, B., Aronson, M.F., Ulrich, W., […] 2023. Urbanisation generates multiple trait syndromes for terrestrial animal taxa worldwide. Nature Communications. 14(1), 4751 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39746-1
  30. Fuji, A., Kusumoto, B., Shiono, T., Kubota, Y., Ulrich, W., […] 2023. Geographic patterns of seed dormancy strategies along latitudinal and climatic gradients, Japanese East Asian islands. Japanese Journal of Statistics and Data Science. 6 (2), 885 – 901 https://doi.org/10.1007/s42081-023-00215-0
  31. Ulrich, W., Zaplata, M.k., 2023. Trait driven or neutral: understanding the change in functional trait diversity during early plant succession using Price partitions. Plant Ecology, 224(10): 885 – 894, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-023-01344-y
  32. Habel, J.C., Ulrich, W., Gros, P., Teucher, M., Schmitt, T. 2023. Butterfly species respond differently to climate warming and land use change in the northern Alps. Science of The Total Environment, 890, 164268, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164268 
  33. Ulrich, W., Schmitt, T., Gros. P., Trusch, R., Habel. J.C. 2023. Synchronous long-term trends in abundance and compositional variability of butterflies in Central Europe. Ecosphere, 14(7), e4615, https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4615
  34. Bourrat, P., Godsoe, W., Pillai, P., Gouhier, T.C., Ulrich, W., […] 2023. What is the price of using the Price equation in ecology? Oikos, 2023(8), e10024, https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.10024
  35. Vitali, F., Habel, J.C., Ulrich, W., Schmitt, T. 2023. Global change drives phenological and spatial shifts in Central European longhorn beetles (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) during the past 150 years. Oecologia, 202(3): 577 – 587, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-023-05417-7
  36. de la Riva, E.G., Ulrich, W,, Baudry, J., Beaumelle, L., […] 2023. From functional diversity to human well-being: A conceptual framework for agroecosystem sustainability. Agricultural Systems, 2008, 103659, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2023.103659
  37. Ulrich, W., Baudry, J., Bucher, R., de la Riva, E.G., […] 2023. From biodiversity to health: Quantifying the impact of diverse ecosystems on human well-being. People and Nature 5(1): 69 – 83, https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10421
  38. Habel, J.C., Schmitt, T., Ulrich, W., Gros, P., Salcher, B., Teucher, M., 2023. Landscape homogenisation and simplified butterfly community structure go on par across Northern Austria. Landscape Ecology, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-023-01785-w
  39. Ulrich, W., Kusumoto, B., Shiono, T., Fuji, A., […] 2023. Ecological Research, Latitudinal gradients of reproductive traits of Japanese woody plants. 38 (1), 188 – 199, https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1703.12363
  40. Hausmann, A., Ulrich, W., Segerer, A.H., Greifenstein, T., Knubben, J., Morinière,  J., Bozicevic, V., Doczkal, D., Günter, A., Müller, J., Habel, J.C. 2022. Fluctuating insect diversity, abundance and biomass across agricultural landscapes. Scientific Reports 12: 17706.
  41. Olszewski P., Puchałka R., Sewerniak P., Koprowski M., Ulrich W., 2022. Does intraspecific trait variability affect understorey plant community assembly? Acta Oecologica, 117: 103863.
  42. Habel, J.C., Schmitt, T., Gros, P., Ulrich, W. 2022. Non-linear temporal shifts in species composition coincide with major environmental changes. Science od the Total Environment. 851: 158315.
  43. Matthews, T.J. Wayman, J.P., Cardoso, P., Sayol, F., Hume, J.P., Ulrich, W., Tobias, J.A, Triantis, K. 2022. Threatened and extinct island endemic birds: distribution, threats and ecological function. J. Biogeogr. 49: 1920-1940.
  44. Ulrich, W., Matthews, T.J., Biurrun, I., Campos, J.A., Czortek, P., Dembicz, I., Essl, F., Filibeck, G., Giusso del Galdo, G.-P., Güler, B., Naqinezhad, A., Török, P., Dengler, J. 2022. Environmental drivers and spatial scaling of species abundance distributions in Palaearctic grassland vegetation. Ecology: 103: 3725.
  45. Nzau, J.M., Ulrich, W., Rieckmann, M., Habel, J.C. 2022. The need for local-adjusted Participatory Forest Management in biodiversity hotspots. Biodiversity and Conservation. 31: 1313-1328.
  46. Habel, J.C., Ulrich, W., Rieckmann, M., Shauri, H., Nzau, M.J. 2022. Lacking of benefit-sharing undermines support for nature conservation in an Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot. Ecology and Society 27: (4)3.