Postdoctoral position in Community Ecology (m/f/d)

20.01.2026, Wissenschaftliches Personal

In the framework of the DFG priority program 1374 "Biodiversity Exploratories” (www.biodiversityexploratories.de) the Arthopods project is responsible for long-term monitoring of insects and other arthropod groups as well as arthropod-related ecological processes in 150 grassland and 150 forest plots. We invite application for a Postdoctoral position in Community Ecology (m/f/d)

Your tasks
The candidate for the position will be responsible for conducting the insect survey together with a team of technicians and student helpers. The successful candidate will have access to a unique data set and will analyze various aspects of arthropod community assembly.

Tasks include
• supervising the arthropod field survey in 150 grassland and 150 forest plots that runs annually since 2008. This survey is one of the most extensive surveys worldwide.
• supervising the identification of arthropods, in particular the sorting of samples to order level by students and technicians.
• documentation of all relevant aspects of the survey in a database.
• analysis of the arthropod datasets1, focusing in particular on the interactive effects between climate and land use, in collaboration with colleagues of the University of Lüneburg (Prof. Michael Staab) and the Technical University of Darmstadt (Prof. Nico Blüthgen).
• writing of scientific manuscripts

More information about the Arthropods projects can be found on the Arthropod Project pages of the Biodiversity Exploratories Project.

Your qualifications
• Ph.D. in community ecology, or a related relevant field
• Experience in ecological field work
• Experience in insect identification
• Strong skills in the analysis of ecological data
• Good command of the English language (C1), knowledge of German is of advantage
• Good communication skills
• Proven ability to work in a team
• Driver’s licence and driving experience

1For methodology and examples for analysis see e.g. Wildermuth et al. 2026 Nature Ecol&Evol; Neuenkamp et al. 2025 Nature Ecol&Evol, Achury et al. 2025 J Anim Ecol; Hartlieb et al. 2025 Oikos; Staab et al. 2025 Basic Appl Ecol; Seibold et al. 2019 Nature;

Our offer
The position is initially limited to two years. Remuneration is based on the collective agreement for the federal states (TV-L). Severely disabled persons will be given preference if they are essentially equally qualified. TUM strives to increase the proportion of women in its workforce. Applications from women are therefore expressly welcome. The preferred starting date is 01.04.2026.

TUM has once again been named a University of Excellence and is thus the only technical university to continuously retain this status since 2006. We offer working in a thriving and international research environment. The Terrestrial Ecology Research Group at TUM carries out fundamental research on how human land-use affects biodiversity and on the importance of biodiversity for ecosystem processes and services. Successful applicants will be able to enjoy all benefits of the TUM Talent Factory für Postdocs. This project is embedded in the DFG Priority Program Biodiversity Exploratories which offer a multitude of opportunities for collaboration, data sharing and networking.

How to apply
For further information about the position, please contact Wolfgang W. Weisser by email (wolfgang.weisser@tum.de) or phone (++49 8161 71 3495).

If you are interested in joining our team, please send your application by 15.February 2026 to:
Technical University of Munich, Chair of Terrestrial Ecology, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354 Freising, Germany, Tel: 08161-71-3495, Email: toek@ls.tum.de.
Applications should a cover letter, a short statement of past and future research interests, a Curriculum Vitae including a list of publications, and names and email addresses of two references. If you are applying online, please send all documents in a single PDF file. If you are applying by post, please only send copies, as we are unable to return your application documents after the application process has been completed.

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Kontakt: toek@ls.tum.de