Events

18:00-19:30
HU Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, Senatssaal

Biodiversity in the context of environmental change and land use: research expeditions to southern Africa and ecosystematic comparison

The lecture will be delivered in German (Title: Biodiversität im Wandel von Umwelt und Nutzung: Forschungsreisen in das südliche Afrika und ökosystematischer Vergleich)

The primary grassland ecosystems of Central Europe developed under the influence of Pleistocene megafauna (e.g. Mammuthus). With the arrival of modern homo sapiens in Central Europe, this megafauna became extinct. As a result, dense, predominantly woody vegetation (spread of forests) expanded in the originally open grassland systems. During the Neolithic Revolution, extensive clearing broke up this dense vegetation once again, giving rise to the agricultural grassland ecosystems that are still visible today, which are controlled by human use, including grazing by domesticated animals.
In contrast to Central Europe, the majority of Pleistocene megafauna taxa have been preserved in the grassland ecosystems (savannahs) of southern Africa. The savannahs of southern Africa thus serve as a recent reference base and natural laboratory for understanding the interrelationships between grassland and megafauna and the influence of human use (grazing, climate change) on this fragile network of relationships.
In Central Europe, human activities have proven formative for the landscapes. The comparative approach makes it possible to critically examine and better understand concepts such as ‘wilderness’ and ‘rewilding’.

Professor Dr. Ulrich Zeller is a retired Professor at the Humboldt University (HU), Berlin, Germany. He holds degrees in Medical and Biological Sciences of The Universities of Goettingen and Berlin, and was a fellow of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Professor Zeller was Director of the Zoological Museum in Berlin and was the head of the Division of Systematic Zoology at HU. He is member of the editorial board of various scientific journals and has a record of more than 300 publications in well recognized scientific journals. His research interests are the organismic and evolutionary biology of vertebrates esp. mammals, biodiversity under changing environments and human use mainly in central Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa and Australia.