Species roles in plant–frugivore interaction networks

We are seeking a motivated Bachelor or Master student to join a research project investigating how plant–frugivore interactions shape biodiversity patterns and the potential for animal-mediated regeneration in fragmented temperate landscapes. The project uses Denmark as a model system and examines how different bird and mammal species contribute to maintaining these interactions across space. Some frugivores may function as spatial connectors, interacting with many plant species across habitats, while others may act as specialists restricted to particular vegetation types or seasons. Identifying these roles will help assess how individual species contribute to seed dispersal and ecosystem functioning, and how sensitive these processes are to environmental change and habitat fragmentation.

Interaction networks provide a powerful framework to address this question by identifying which plant species interact with which animal species. In this project, interactions will be inferred from species’ morphological traits, phenology, and spatial co-occurrence across Denmark, allowing us to evaluate how plant–frugivore interactions vary across habitats and seasons.

The student will work with existing trait data, species distribution datasets, and interaction network models for plants and frugivores, and integrate these with information on fruiting periods and animal activity patterns. The student will contribute to assembling and curating phenology data from literature, databases, or monitoring programs, and to building spatially explicit interaction networks. The project will involve data handling, literature review, and ecological data analysis, including statistical modelling, spatial analyses, and network analysis using R or similar tools.

Contact:

You will work with Eva Moracho ([email protected]) under the supervision of Alejandro Ordoñez ([email protected]). The start date and project scope are flexible and can be adapted to Bachelor or Master thesis requirements. If you are interested or have any questions regarding the potential project, please contact Eva Moracho and cc Alejandro Ordoñez in the email.

The project proposal has been submitted on 09.02.26