Dr. Trevor Petney,  Dr. Miriam Pfäffle, Dipl. Biol. Nina Littwin

The main focus of our department lays in the ecology of ticks and biological globalization and its impact on ecosystems. Ticks are the main vectors of disease to humans and animals in Europe. The distribution and density of populations of some medically and economically important species of ticks seem to be increasing in Central Europe. The reasons for this change are discussed controversially and are based on factors such as climate change, altered land use and changes in human behavior.

An important aspect of globalization is that species colonizing new continents can lead to significant changes in the dynamics of ecosystems. About 50% of all animal species are parasites and among non-parasites there are many which serve the parasite as intermediate hosts or vectors. It is therefore not surprising that many parasites are among the species that were able to expand their distribution areas on a global scale. In order to develop and improve production and protection strategies, it is therefore important to understand the impact of parasites and pathogens on their hosts.

Our department is working on the following topics:

- Ecology of ticks, their hosts and tick-borne pathogens
- Behavioral ecology and host-parasite relationships
- Population and community ecology of parasites
- Biological globalization
- Biodiversity
- Acantocephala
- Aquatic Ecology and Parasitology