Nature conservation e.g. by NGO Fundacion Jocotoco, can help to bend the curve of biodiversity decline. The graph shows how large parts of the diversity comes back due to natural regeneraion of a rainforest. It illustrates the main finding of our study published in Nature: Protection restores 90% of species diversity in 30 years.

Good news! #Biodiversity🦜🐜🐒🐸 in a tropical #rainforest 🌴🇪🇨can naturally recover quickly 📈 (if the conditions are suitable = enough surrounding forest). Our new study in #Nature
#forestecol #restoration @jocotoco.bsky.social
www.reassembly.de/posts/recove...
www.reassembly.de/news/rainfor...

The paper was featured in the journal cover 😁
(photo by Marco Tschapka, see below)

Forest structure and connectivity drive the functional recovery of seed rain Local forest structure and landscape-scale connectivity shape distinct but complementary pathways of the functional recovery of seed rain in tropical forests. Structural complexity promotes functiona...

Together, these results show that both local and landscape scale matters for forest recovery, and considering both is key to bringing back ecosystem functioning in tropical forests!

You can find the paper here: besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Forest strucutre🌴: as forest become more complex, they support more diverse plant-frugivore interactions, increasing the functional diversity of the seed rain

Forest connectivity 🗾: enables late-successional seeds to arrivem from external sources, shaping the functional composition of the seed rain

We studied seed dispersal interactions across a 40-year forest recovery chronosequence in the Ecuadorian Chocó and found two complementary pathways driving seed rain functional connectivity:

Local forest structure 🌴

and

Landscape-scale connectivity 🗾

Better late than never 😅

Happy to share that the final paper of my PhD was out this February in @journalofecology.bsky.social ! We asked: what drives the functional recovery of seed rain as tropical forests regnerate after disturbances? 🫘🌿

@reassemblynet.bsky.social #restoration #forestecol

Descubren cómo se recupera un bosque tropical en el Chocó ecuatoriano tras la deforestación | ESTUDIO Un estudio reciente registró información del tiempo que se toman las plantas, los animales y sus interacciones para recuperarse.

🇪🇨🌳 ¿Puede un bosque recuperarse después de la deforestación? Un estudio reciente en el Chocó ecuatoriano demuestra que sí. Los hallazgos aquí. ⬇️ es.mongabay.com/2026/01/recu...

A Christmas message.

The secret history of Neoliberalism | The Invisible Doctrine | Full Film YouTube video by Journeyman Pictures

Delighted to hear that The Invisible Doctrine, the film by @peterhutchison.bsky.social and @lucas-sabean.bsky.social, is being offered free to view on YouTube for the holiday season. It's all yours! youtu.be/gR4eSEetKP0

Application Process Image Woman behind a podium presenting. Jessie Golding, BBCS postdoc, presenting at ICCB 2025. Apply to become a Lovejoy Fellow by submitting your resume, cover letter, and contact information for three references through the University of Arizona Talent Portal (link upcoming) by the first review date of January 30, 2026. Your cover letter should: Identify 1-2 Lovejoy BBCS faculty you would be interested in working with and explain the primary research directions you would want to pursue in collaboration with this faculty member. You are strongly encouraged to reach out to faculty before submitting your application. Describe your experience with or interest in inter- or transdisciplinary research. Explain how this experience will positively impact your career trajectory.

New postdoctoral fellowship opportunity! Please pass along. Excited to announce the launch of the Tom Lovejoy Fellowship Program at the University of Arizona for innovative research to protect species, sustain ecosystems, and promote a thriving planet lovejoycenter.arizona.edu/lovejoy-fell... 🧪🌐🌾

Restoration ultimately aims to recover complex ecological systems with many interdependent species at large scale

To understand the driving processes, we combined experiments & modelling

Finding a trade-off between species recovery and food-web complexity
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

This work was done together with great people @mschleuning.bsky.social, @jalbrecht.bsky.social , @btinoco.bsky.social and others :)

It is part of the @reassemblynet.bsky.social, where we study how interactions recover after disturbance.

And carried out at @sgn.one

Why it matters:

Animal-mediated seed dispersal is essential for the natural regeneration of tropical forests. 🕊️

Our results show that seed-dispersal interactions often don’t fully recover before secondary forests are cut again. This means the potential of natural regeneration is being undermined.

Some other key findings:

▫️ Recovery is slower and less predictable in poorly connected patches.

▫️ The functional diversity of animal frugivores takes almost 40 years to recover, delaying the re-establishment of interactions.

▫️ Remnant trees play a key role in triggering forest recovery.

Delayed recovery of seed-dispersal interactions after deforestation Landim et al. show that seed-dispersal interactions require about two decades to functionally recover in tropical forests in Ecuador, but the recovery time of seed-dispersal functions is delayed in pa...

Excited to share that the second paper of my PhD is out in @currentbiology.bsky.social 🍈🦜🍒🐒🍊🐿️

We show that the functional diversity of seed-dispersal interactions in tropical forests takes circa 20 years to recover after deforestation.

You can read it here: www.cell.com/current-biol...

3 year Postdoctoral Research Fellow position in Landscape Multifunctionality here in beautiful Bergen jobbnorge.no/en/available... please repost

Our latest nutcracker paper is out!

In a collaborative effort between @sgn.one and @vogelwarte.bsky.social we show how bird age can affect seed dispersal 🐥🌱

#ProcB @royalsocietypublishing.org Avian seed dispersal function is age dependent
doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

@matthiastschumi.bsky.social

Parabens!!!

Thanks @mschleuning.bsky.social and Eike Lena Neuschulz for the supervision and @isatxu.bsky.social Marjorie Sorensen and Thomas Mueller for the collaboration :)

Why it matters:

These results can help guide restoration efforts: providing a high diversity of fruit resources in degraded patches can be crucial to improve forest regeneration. Also, planting small islands of resources in highly fragmented landscapes can improve connectivity between patches.

These results also depend on network specialization: in general, higher specialization leads to lower diversity of seeds being dispersed into habitat patches.

Functional connectivity of animal-dispersed plant communities depends on the interacting effects of network specialization and resource diversity | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Scien... Plant functional connectivity—the dispersal of plant propagules between habitat patches—is often ensured through animal movement. Yet, there is no quantitative framework to analyse how plant–animal in...

Some key findings:

Resource diversity in a patch increases both seed number and diversity, but it is most significant between ~50 to 100 meters.

When between-patch distance is around 250 meters or more, connectivity relies on rare long-distance dispersal by large birds.

Happy to share that the first paper of my PhD is out!

We developed a trait-based framework 🌱🦜 to quantify how plant-frugivore interactions and animal movement shape plant functional connectivity—the dispersal of seeds between habitat patches.

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Different generations of @sgn.one Functional Ecology group at @soctropecol.bsky.social 😊

go.bsky.app/3Qp6YYL

We have created this promising starter pack 🫶🏼 All seed dispersal lovers are welcome 🤗!

The figure shows the beauty and diversity of tree-related microhabitats recorded on Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.

Can we use tree-related microhabitats (TreMs)🌳 as indicators of #tropical #biodiversity? Our new study led by Giovanni Bianco shows that TreM diversity actually increases with temperature and decreases with human impact on Kilimanjaro 🇹🇿 Now published in Ecological Indicators: doi.org/10.1016/j.ec...

Enjoy the #scientific and #adventurous journey through many facets of a #recovering #tropical #rainforest 🌴 🇪🇨 with us:
Our 3️⃣rd NEWSLETTER 📰 is out!!!
#Ecuador #tropical #forest #biodiversity #conservation #networks #animals #plants #recovery
www.reassembly.de/posts/third-...