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Katrin Schifferle

Research interests

I'm broadly interested in ecological processes, especially in species distributions and how they are affected by global change.
I like data analyses and modelling, particularly when spatial data are involved, however, I also enjoy going outside and gathering data myself.
Within the DEBTs project, I aim to disentangle the importance of abiotic and biotic drivers of observed changes in North American breeding birds using a 50-year time series of count data.

Project

DEBTs

Katrin Schifferle

Academic career

currently PhD Student within DFG project DEBTS [ZU 361/6-1]

Research assistant in the Ecology & Macroecology group, University of Potsdam

M.Sc. Environmental Sciences, University of Freiburg (thesis on detecting bird calls during nocturnal migration using machine learning)

Internship at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) on predicting high tide roost choice in wintering oystercatchers

Internship and B.Sc. thesis at the Research Institute for Forest Ecology and Forestry Rhineland-Palatinate (fieldwork for estimating ungulate population size using distance sampling, thesis on deriving red deer distribution patterns from aerial surveys and faecal pellet count data)

B.Sc. Geography, University of Freiburg

Publications

  • Zurell D, Albert C, Bocedi G, Briscoe NJ, Buckley LB, Gascoigne SJL, Gonzalez A, Guillera-Arroita G, Isaac NJB, Karger D, Lundquist C, Merow C, Sarmento Cabral J, Schifferle K, Velazco SJE, Urban MC (2026) Biodiversity science and policy need more model intercomparisons. Nature Reviews Biodiversity 2: 204-215.
  • Rönnfeldt A, Holle V, Schifferle K, Gallien L, Knight T, Weigelt P, Craven D, Cabral JS, Zurell D (2026) Climatic niche conservatism in non-native plants depends on introduction history and biogeographic context. Nature Communications 17: 416.
  • Zurell D, Bocedi G, Velazco SJE, Gonzalez A, Purvis A, Wintle B, Merow C, Lundquist C, Guillera-Arroita G, Settele J, Serra-Diaz JM, Sarmento Cabral J, Travis JMJ, Schifferle K, Buckley L, Briscoe NJ, Isaac NJB, Peres-Neto PR, Keuth R, Gascoigne SJL, Ferrier S, Urban MC (2025) Predicting the way forward for the Global Biodiversity Framework. PNAS 122: e2501695122.
  • Holle V, Rönnfeldt A, Schifferle K, Cabral JS, Craven D, Knight T, Seebens H, Weigelt P, Zurell D (2025) Uncertainty in blacklisting potential Pacific plant invaders using species distribution models. Journal of Applied Ecology 62: 3178-3193
  • Zurell D, Schifferle K, Herrando S, Keller V, Lehikoinen A, Sattler T, Wiedenroth L (2024) Range and climate niche shifts in European and North American breeding birds. Philosophical Transactions B 379: 20230013.