Dr. Fabian A. Ruedenauer

Research interest

• Nutritional Ecology
• Behavioral Ecology
• Chemical Ecology
• Neuroethology

My main research interest is based on what influences resource quality and how resource quality itself is assessed by consumers.

To address these questions I mainly work with bees, mainly bumblebees, which are able to differentiate between different food qualities and use this ability while foraging.

The main focus of my current work is:

• Electrophysiological and behavioral experiments to find out which nutrients can be received and perceived by bees
• Feeding assays to determine the influences of these nutrients on colony performance and quality assessment
• Finding drivers of the differences in pollen nutrient composition between species
• Biochemical analyses of pollen

Receptors and behavior of ticks

Publications

• Ruedenauer FA, Schaeffler AA, Schneider T, Rakonic G, Spaethe J, Leonhardt SD (2024) Does fat identity matter? The effect of saturated andunsaturated fatty acids on bumble bee consumption and fitness. Ecological Entomology online first doi: 10.1111/een.13402
• Ruedenauer FA (2024) Strategies of flowering plants to avoid pollen collection by undesirable flower visitors. A commentary on ‘High toxin concentration in pollen may deter collection by bees in butterfly-pollinated Rhododendron molle’. Annals of Botany 134: i-ii. doi: 10.1093/aob/mcae088
• Straub F, Birkenbach M, Leonhardt SD, Ruedenauer FA, Kuppler J, Wilfert L, Ayasse M (2023) Land-use-associated stressors interact to reduce bumblebee health at the individual and colony level. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 290: 20231322. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1322
• Ruedenauer FA, Parreño MA, Grunwald Kadow IC, Spaethe J, Leonhardt SD (2023) The ecology of nutrient sensation and perception in insects. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 38: 994-1004. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.05.006
• Russo L, Ruedenauer FA, Gronert A, Van de Vreken I, Vanderplanck M, Michez D, Klein AM, Leonhardt SD, Stout JC (2023) Fertilizer and herbicide alter nectar and pollen quality with consequences for pollinator floral choices. PeerJ 11: e15452. doi: 10.7717/peerj.15452
• Villagómez GN, Brachvogel RC, Kárpáti Z, Leonhardt SD, Schmitt T, Ruedenauer FA (2023) A common protocol for reliable comparison of pollen fatty acid profiles: highlighting pitfalls and proposing a methodology for ecological research. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 11: 1141832. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2023.1141832
• Nebauer CA, Schleifer MC, Ruedenauer FA, Leonhardt SD, Spaethe J (2023) Perception, regulation, and fitness effects of pollen phytosterols in the bumble bee, Bombus terrestris. American Journal of Botany: e16165. doi: 10.1002/ajb2.16165
• Eschlwech F, Ruedenauer FA, Leonhardt SD, Minceva M, Luca SV (2023) Liquid-liquid chromatography separation of hemp terpenes with repellent properties against Hyalomma marginatum: A multi-methodological approach. Industrial crops and products 197: 116562. doi: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2023.116562
• Parreño MA , Alaux C, Brunet JL, Buydens L, Filipiak M, Henry M, Keller A, Klein AM, Kuhlmann M, Leroy C, Meeus I, Palmer-Young E, Piot N, Requier F, Ruedenauer FA, Smagghe G, Stevenson PC, Leonhardt SD (2022) Critical links between biodiversity and health in wild bee conservation. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 37 (4): 309-321. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2021.11.013
• Venjakob C, Ruedenauer FA, Klein AM, Leonhardt SD (2021) Variation in nectar quality across 34 grassland plant species. Plant Biology 24 (1): 134-144. doi:10.1111/plb.13343
• Ruedenauer FA, Biewer NW, Nebauer CA, Scheiner M, Spaethe J & Leonhardt SD (2021) Honey bees can taste amino and fatty acids in pollen, but not sterols. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 9 : 404.
• Ruedenauer FA, Sydow D, Spaethe J, Leonhardt SD (2020) Young bumblebees may rely on both direct pollen cues and early experience when foraging. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 287 (1933): 20201615. doi:10.1098/rspb.2020.1615
• Grund-Mueller N, Ruedenauer FA, Spaethe J, Leonhardt SD (2020) Adding amino acids to a sucrose diet is not sufficient to support longevity of adult bumblebees. Insects 11 (4): 247. doi:10.3390/insects11040247
• Ruedenauer FA, Raubenheimer D, Kessner-Beierlein D, Grund-Mueller N, Noack L, Spaethe J, Leonhardt SD (2020) Best be(e) on low fat: linking nutrient perception, regulation and fitness. Ecology Letters 23 (3): 545-554. doi:10.1111/ele.13454
• Radio podcast (in German): https://www.br.de/radio/bayern2/sendungen/iq-wissenschaft-und-forschung/covid-mars-erdhummel-100.html
• Ruedenauer FA, Spaethe J, van der Kooi CJ, Leonhardt SD (2019) Pollinator or pedigree: which factors determine the evolution of pollen nutrients? Oecologia 191 (2): 349-358. doi: 10.1007/s00442-019-04494-x
• Ruedenauer FA, Leonhardt SD, Lunau K, Spaethe J (2019) Bumblebees are able to perceive amino acids via chemotactile antennal stimulation. Journal of Comparative Physiology A 205 (3): 321-331. doi: 10.1007/s00359-019-01321-9
• Ruedenauer FA, Wöhrle C, Spaethe J, Leonhardt SD (2018) Do honeybees (Apis mellifera) differentiate between different pollen types? PLoS ONE 13 (11): e0205821. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0205821
• Ruedenauer FA, Leonhardt SD, Schmalz F, Rössler W, Strube-Bloss MF (2017) Separation of different pollen types by chemotactile sensing in Bombus terrestris. Journal of Experimental Biology 220 (8): 1435-1442. doi: 10.1242/jeb.153122
• Ruedenauer FA, Spaethe J, Leonhardt SD (2016) Hungry for quality—individual bumblebees forage flexibly to collect high-quality pollen. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 70 (8):1209–1217. doi: 10.1007/s00265-016-2129-8
• Ruedenauer FA, Spaethe J, Leonhardt SD (2015) How to know which food is good for you: bumblebees use taste to discriminate between different concentrations of food differing in nutrient content. Journal of Experimental Biology 218 (14): 2233-2240. doi: 10.1242/jeb.118554

Inside JEB article: jeb.biologists.org/content/218/14/2144.full