A publication at the end of a field course
2012-02-27
Two students of the elite graduate program Global Change Ecology (M.Sc.) successfully published their first paper in the peer-reviewed journal ‘diversity’. The conducted study was part of a regular field course on the Canary Islands which was offered by the departments of Biogeography and Disturbance Ecology and supported by the elite network of Bavaria.
Nearly one year has passed since the preparation began, now Benjamin Leutner, Andrea Früh (both M.Sc. Global Change Ecology) and Carina Müller (M. Sc. Geoökologie) have succeeded: Their study “Mosses like it rough - Growth Form Specific Responses of Mosses, Herbaceous and Woody Plants to Micro-Relief Heterogeneity” has been published in the open access journal “diversity”.
The three students of the University of Bayreuth took part in a field course on the island of La Palma and examined how the micro-relief diverseness influences species richness of different plant growth forms. Result: Especially mosses are influenced by this, whereas herbaceous and woody plants are more affected by tree density and the direction in which a hillside is exposed.
“The work for the course was a lot of fun and we put so much effort and energy in the study. The publication is a great reward for this”, concludes Andrea Früh. Benjamin Leutner enjoyed especially the independence: “We could design and conduct the study completely on our own, this made our task so fascinating.”
The process of preparing and carrying out their work was very informative for the students. Prof. Carl Beierkuhnlein (Biogeography), Prof. Anke Jentsch (Disturbance Ecology) and their associates supported them on their way. Manuel Steinbauer, co-author and research associate, appreciates the publication in an open access journal and would generally wish “a better support for open access of publications in science”. The University of Bayreuth and the elite network of Bavaria supported the field course financially.
For Benjamin Leutner and Andrea Früh, the end of their study time draws nearer. Benjamin Leutner wants to do a PhD in the field of applied remote sensing, whereas Andrea Früh wants to work in the field of landscape planning or for a NGO.
The field course itself will take place again this year – Carl Beierkuhnlein, Anke Jentsch and their associates are looking forward to new research results.
Link to the publication:
http://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/4/1/59/