Claudia Stein

Postdoctoral Scholar

Education

• PhD University of Potsdam & Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Germany, 2008
• Diploma Biology (chemical ecology, botany) Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, 2003

Research Description

I am a plant ecologist broadly interested in the patterns, causes, and consequences of diversity with an emphasis on grassland ecosystems. My main research interests are directed towards understanding the influence of species interactions, especially plant-herbivore and plant-soil feedbacks, as well as biological invasions on the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.

Selected Publications

Stein C, Unsicker S, Kahmen A, Wagner M, Audorff V, Auge H, Prati D, Weisser WW (2010): Impact of invertebrate herbivory in grasslands depends on plant species diversity. Ecology 91:1639-1650 – Highlighted in Science Editors’ Choice by Sugden, AM (2010) Driving Diversity Underground. Science (329), 5989: 258

Unsicker SB, Franzke A,Specht J, Köhler G, Linz J, Renker C, Stein C & Weisser WW (2010): Plant species richness in montane grasslands affects the fitness of a generalist grasshopper species. Ecology 91(4): 1083-1091

Hempel S, Stein C, Unsicker S, Renker C, Auge H, Weisser W W, Buscot F (2009): Specific bottom-up effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi across a plant-herbivore-parasitoid system. Oecologia 160:267-277

Stein C, Rißmann, C, Hempel S, Renker C, Buscot F, Prati D and Auge H (2009): The effect of plant parasites and mycorrhizal fungi on plant communities. Oecologia (159): 191-205

Stein C, Auge H, Fischer M, Weisser WW & Prati D (2008): Dispersal and seed limitation affect diversity and productivity of montane European grasslands. Oikos (117): 1469-1478

Unsicker SB, Köhler G, Linz J, Stein C & Weisser WW (2008): Colour morph related performance in the common grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus (Orthoptera, Acrididae). Ecological Entomology (33): 631-637

Hilker M, Stein C, Schröder R, Varama M and Mumm R (2005): Insect egg deposition induces defence responses in Pinus sylvestris: characterisation of the elicitor. Journal of Experimental Biology (208): 1849-1854