Louica Philipp [PhD student]
General Research interests:
- Theoretical Ecology
- Complex Ecological Systems
- Food webs, metacommunities and multi-Layer networks
- Further: Citizen Science, identification of plants and birds (currently not professionally pursued)
Louica Philipp [PhD student]
Doctoral Thesis: “Maintenance of Functional Diversity by Self-Organized Pattern Formation”
The formation of self-organized spatial patterns is an intriguing process that has been observed and theoretically analyzed in a variety of different ecosystemsranging from dryland vegetation to intertidal mudflats to aquatic ecosystems. In this project, I investigate this phenomenon in the context of trophic metacommunities,where pattern formation is caused by scale-dependent feedback between local trophic interactions and regional dispersal and manifests as heterogeneous spatial distributions of resources and biomass across habitat patches and trophic levels (see concept figure). Specifically, I am interested in the potential of pattern formation to support the diversity, adaptability and persistence of network-like ecosystems exposed to changing environmental conditions and under habitat change.
I use dynamic mathematical models based on ODEs in which I combine local trophic interactions and spatial redistribution of abiotic resources and species dispersal between habitat patches with adaptation processes of functional trait distributions. Synthesizing several relevant processes and spatial scales into a single model allows me to analyse their interactions and potential to form complex dynamics. I complement numerical simulations of the spatial eco-evo dynamics with formal analyses, e.g. stability analysis and tools from linear algebra and network science.
Supervision: Dr. Christian Guill
Publications
ORCID profile: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5021-7056
Philipp, L., Klauschies, T., & Guill, C. (2024). Habitat isolation diminishes potential of self-organised pattern formation to promote local diversity in metacommunities. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.02.22.581536 [BioRXiv Preprint]
Scientific career
since 01 2023 PhD studies in Theoretical Ecology:“Maintenance of Functional Diversity by Self-Organized Pattern Formation”
Dep. Ecology & Ecosystem Modelling, Potsdam University, Germany.
Supervision: Dr. Christian Guill, Mentor: Prof. Jelena Pantel
Funding by German Research Foundation (DFG) under grant number GU 1645/2-1
10 2018 – 10 2022 M.Sc. Ecology, Evolution, Conservation, Potsdam University, Germany
Thesis: „Self-organized pattern formation and maintenance of functional diversity in complex spatial systems”
Supervision: Dr. Christian Guill, Dr. Toni Klauschies
10 2014 – 11 2018 B.Sc. Biology,Humboldt University Berlin, Germany
Thesis: „On the utility of interactive identification keys by the example of a XPER3 key to Cuban Vanilla (Orchidaceae) species”
Supervision: Dr. Anika Dreilich, Prof. Kurt Zoglauer
Further education
04 2025 Workshop on Analyzing Ecological Networks
Centre for Biodiversity Synthesis and Analysis of the Foundation for Biodiversity Research (CESAB-FRB), Montpellier, France
10 2024 Complexity GAINs International School of the Santa Fe Institute for Complex Systems Science
co-hosted by Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution de Montpellier (ISEM) & Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in
Sète, France
Teaching
Basic Theoretical Ecology (Master EEC), Potsdam University: Block course “Modelling Metacommunities” with Dr. Christian Guill
Activity in scientific community
since 2024: Co-Chair of YoMos (Young Modellers in Ecology), working group of the GfÖ
Former projects & activities
- “Urbanität & Vielfalt” (student employee)
- Scientific collection of live plants at Späth-Arboretum Berlin (student employee)
- Member of student councils for Biological sciences (HU Berlin & Potsdam University, (2014 – 2022), student representative in faculty committees
- Board leader of “Student Congress of Biosciences in Germany” [Bundesfachschaftentagung Biologie] (2018 – 2022)
