Studentische Hilfskraft / Student assistant (HiWi) Bestäuberinsekten / Insect pollinators

Studentische Hilfskraft / Student assistant (HiWi) Bestäuberinsekten / Insect pollinators

11.11., Studentische Hilfskräfte, Praktikantenstellen, Studienarbeiten

The chair of Urban Productive Ecosystems is seeking support for our urban garden research team in . Within our CityBees and BioDivHubs research projects, we are offering a student assistant position of 10-20 hours / week (based on your availability and desired workload). The position is for a minimum of 6 months and primarily focuses on lab work, specifically sorting and identifying insects and measuring traits.

Background :

Urbanization is a major driver of biodiversity change and can impact insect communities by fragmenting suitable habitat, limiting food or nesting resources, and adding stressors like heat or pollution. In the face of urban growth and declining pollinator populations, we aim to understand how urbanization impacts pollinators, and how this may be mitigated by locally implemented biodiversity measures.

Approach :

In community gardens across Munich and Berlin, we sample the pollinator community through observations with nets and traps set out for two days. In the laboratory, insects are identified and their traits, such as body size, measured, to assess abundance and diversity in each garden.

Tasks :

• Sorting insects into orders and identifying bees to the species or genus level
• Organizing and managing insect samples, preparing and pinning bees
• Measuring bee traits – e.g., body size, tongue length, etc.
• Potential for field work and insect sampling in Spring / Summer if interested

Time frame :

10-20 hours per week, depending on availability, can be flexibly distributed throughout the week. Start date between January and April . Duration at least 6 months with possibility of extension – we are ideally looking for someone to join our team longer-term (~2 years), but this is not necessary.

Requirements :

Interest in ecology, entomology, urbanization, and / or conservation; motivation to conduct lab work with insects

If you have any questions, or to apply, please send a CV and motivation statement to :

Alexandra Zink,

Urban Productive Ecosystems, TUM - |