Research group Group Hackel
Evolutionary plant biogeography
We are plant biogeographers, studying why plant species are found in particular places of the world but not in others. We focus on the evolutionary processes that have generated these distribution patterns. Our methods are based on phylogenetics, which means we use DNA to understand how species diverged from each other over time. Based on this, we model the dispersal of species between areas, the emergence and extinction of species, and how particular traits, such as fire tolerance, evolve. We also collect plants in the field and work with herbarium collections. Currently, we focus on the biogeography of grasses (Poaceae), the ecosystems of Madagascar, and the geographic co-evolution of grasses and their symbiotic fungi.
Group members
Group managers
Jan Hackel
Associate Professor
Members
Friederike Johanna Rosa Wölke
PhD student
