Claudia Hemp
On Kilimanjaro, numerous material and non-material Nature’s Contributions to People (NCP) depend on plant and animal species and on their interactions. Certain species can supply both detrimental and beneficial contributions, and assessing their net impact on people’s quality of life is complex. Moreover, biodiversity change is likely to alter the beneficial and detrimental contributions that people obtain from nature and, in turn, people’s perception of biodiversity. In Subproject 2, we aim to investigate how these mechanisms shape the supply of material and non-material NCP within the Kilimanjaro social-ecological System.
Objectives
First, we aim to investigate how mutualistic and antagonistic interactions between plant and animal species shape the way in which ecosystems can supply material and non-material NCP. To do so, we will employ machine-learning to combine species’ traits and occurrences into ecological networks to determine how interactions underpin NCP supply.
Second, we plan to assess the main detrimental contributions of nature that negatively affect people’s quality of life. We will focus on the potential role of disease reservoirs of small mammals, like rodents and fruit-eating bats, characterising their gut microbiomes in different habitat types on Kilimanjaro. For bats, we will track individuals of Wahlberg’s epauletted fruit bats to determine how their behaviour results in potential detriments (pathogen transmission) or benefits (seed dispersal) to people.
Third, we will investigate how people perceive the relevance of different plants and animals for the supply of nature’s contributions. To do so, we will carry out surveys and determine what people think of the beneficial or detrimental contributions derived from nature and whether they identify trade-offs between them.
Outcomes
This project contributes to a mechanistic understanding of the role of nature for human well-being, highlighting potential trade-offs between NCP. By understanding how people perceive the benefits and detriments provided by nature, we can identify ecological, cultural and social elements that impact the relationship between people and nature. Altogether, this knowledge can provide leverage points for conserving biodiversity and improving livelihoods on Kilimanjaro.
Team members
Prof. Dr. Matthias Schleuning (Principal Investigator)
Prof. Dr. Marco Tschapka (Principal Investigator)
Dr. Lisa Lehnen (Principal Investigator)
Prof. Dr. Simone Sommer (Co-Principal Investigator)
Prof. Dr. Katrin Böhning-Gaese (Co-Principal Investigator)
Prof. Dr. Thomas Mueller (Co-Principal Investigator)
Dr. Ugo Arbieu (Co-Principal Investigator)
Prof. Dr. Peter Manning (Co-Principal Investigator)
Dr. Robert Modest Byamungu (Tanzanian Co-Principal Investigator)
Neema Robert Kinabo (Tanzanian Co-Principal Investigator)
Maria Eugenia Degano (PhD student, Phase 1)
Koggani Dickson Koggani (PhD student, Phase 1)
Giovanni Bianco (PostDoc)
Agnes Mpinga (PhD student)
Samuel Witchalls (PhD student)
(for more information see People page)