Chair for Terrestrial Ecology
Department for Life Science Systems
TUM School of Life Sciences
Technische Universität München
Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2
D-85350 Freising-Weihenstephan
Room: 1.1.2.7
Phone: +49.8161.71.2489
Fax: +49.8161.71.4427
E-mail: christian.hof[at]tum.de
Curriculum vitae
| 2018- | present | Junior Research Group Leader |
| Since | 2015 | Member of the German Young Academy (Die Junge Akademie) |
| 2011- | 2018 | Postdoctoral Researcher, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), Frankfurt (Germany) |
| 2010- | 2011 | Postdoctoral Researcher, Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, University of Copenhagen (Denmark) |
| 2010 | | Graduation as PhD with the dissertation “Species distributions and climate change: current patterns and future scenarios for biodiversity” |
| 2007- | 2010 | PhD, Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, University of Copenhagen (Denmark) and Biodiversity and Global Change Lab, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, Madrid (Spain) |
| 1999- | 2006 | Studies of Biology (majors: Animal Ecology, Nature Conservation, Zoology), University of Marburg |
Research interest
My scientific work focuses on three main questions:
- How are species able to respond to the challenges of anthropogenic global change?
- What are the impacts of climate change on biodiversity – now, in the past and in the future?
- How is biological diversity in space and time, and what are the underlying causes?
To address these questions, I work with several groups of animals such as terrestrial vertebrates (birds, mammals, amphibians) as well as invertebrates (insects, spiders) and freshwater organisms (in particular dragon- and damselflies).
In my research I aim to combine different types of data and methodological approaches from a mainly macroecological perspective. In order to better understand species’ potential responses to climate change, my recent work has set an emphasis on the integration of biogeographical physiological, and ecological data.
Recently I summarized the findings of our recent research on the impacts of climate and land use change on biodiversity in a popular science article in one of Germany's major newspapers (in German): LINK.
Junior Research Group funded by the bayklif program of the Bavarian State Ministry for Science, Research and the Arts.
Central aim of this project is to improve our understanding the effects of how climate and land-use change on the Bavarian fauna and to build reliable future projections of biodiversity in Bavaria. We will combine data on species distributions of birds, butterflies, dragonflies and grasshoppers (and potentially other taxa) with information from physiology, ecology and biogeography as well as different modelling approaches and across different spatial scales. With this multi-dimensional integration across taxa, scales and disciplines we aim to develop realistic scenarios for biological diversity - in Bavaria and beyond.
BioScen1point5 - Biodiversity scenarios for a 1.5°C warmer world
Project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF)
Aim of BioScen1point5 is an evaluation of the potential future impacts of climate and land-use change for the global biodiversity of terrestrial vertebrates under an average temperature increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius, especially in comparison with other warming scenarios.
Climate change impacts on biodiversity in Pakistan
Project funded by the program „German-Pakistani Research Cooperations“ of the German ACademic Exchange Service (DAAD)
With this project, our main goal is to investigate the potential responses of species and ecological communities to the spatial and temporal variation of climatic conditions along elevational gradients in Pakistan. To do so, we will use a novel integrative methodological framework which combines observations on abundance variation, experimental measurements of thermal traits, and modelling approaches.
Invited Talks (Selection)
Biodiversität am Abgrund – Herausforderung für Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft in Zeiten globalen Wandels. Haus am Dom, Katholische Akademie Rabanus Maurus des Bistums Limburg, Frankfurt, 17 May 2018.
Klima, Mensch, Ökosysteme. Wie beeinflussen Mensch und Klima die Vielfalt des Lebens auf der Erde? Gymnasium Nord, Frankfurt, 16 January 2018.
Understanding and predicting responses of biodiversity to global change: integration at the macro-scale. Technische Universität München, Freising, 6 November 2017.
Biologische Vielfalt im Wandel - Forschung zwischen Orakel und Wissenschaft. Cusanuswerk-Regionalgruppe Rhein-Main, Mainz, 30 June 2017
Wärmer = ärmer? – Artenvielfalt im Klimawandel. Symposium “Worauf wartest Du” der Jungen Akademie in Berlin, 4 November 2016.
Understanding responses of biodiversity to global change: integration at the macro-scale. Invited “next generation scientist”-talk, 9th annual meeting of the Macroecology Specialist Group of the GfÖ in Trier, 15-17 March 2016.
Climate change impacts on biodiversity: are ecological models relevant for conservation? Melbourne Zoo, Melbourne (Australien), 28 January 2016.
Climate change impacts on biodiversity: macroecological perspectives. Greifswald University, 26 November 2015.
Modelling the responses of biodiversity to global change: visions, challenges, and opportunities. University of British Columbia, Vancouver (Canada), 19 May 2015.
Globaler Wandel und Biodiversität: Makroökologische Perspektiven. Symposium keynote, 147. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Ornithologen-Gesellschaft, Bielefeld, 1-6 October 2014.
Orakel oder Wissenschaft? Zu den Auswirkungen des Klimawandels auf Arten und Biodiversität. University of Marburg, 8 July 2014.
Szenarien für die Biosphäre – Prognosen oder Orakel? Von den Möglichkeiten und Grenzen ökologischer Forschung. Tagung “Die Zukunft des Lebens – Szenarien für die Biosphäre” der Fachschaft Chemie/Biologie des Cusanuswerks, Ellwangen, 12 May 2013.
Klimawandel - und sonst? Auswirkungen globaler Bedrohungen auf Artverbreitungen und Biodiversität. Justus-Liebig Universität Gießen, 5 February 2013.
Ist das Klima das Problem? Auswirkungen des globalen Wandels auf Tierverbreitungen und Artenvielfalt. Nationalpark Bayerischer Wald, Grafenau, 22 November 2012.
Frying frogs, dispersing dragons. Does climate change really matter for biodiversity? Imperial College London, Silwood Park (United Kingdom), 20 October 2011.
The geography of future threats for global amphibian diversity - a macroecological perspective on niches, distributions, and climate change. Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, 3 February 2011.
Habitats, dispersal, and climate change: Macroecological insights into the freshwater world. Fachgebiet Angewandte Zoologie/Hydrobiologie, University of Duisburg/Essen, 29 March 2010.
Es wird heiß! - Artenvielfalt und Klimawandel. Realschule Altenkirchen/Westerwald, August 2008.
