Doctoral candidate
Integrating biodiversity and ecosystem services in tropical plantations
Tel: +49 (0)711 / 459-23505
e-mail: aaron.willmott@uni-hohenheim.de
Research project
My PhD (2022-2025) is in collaboration with FiBL, is funded by the Anton & Petra Ehrmann foundation and is based in the Ivory Coast. There I work in a large-scale coconut plantation that aims to achieve a number of sustainability certifications, some of which have biodiversity standards to attain. To that end, I am addressing how best to integrate habitat patches into the plantation to ensure sufficient habitat is provided while also promoting connectivity. I evaluate the habitat patches already present using audio recorders to measure variations in bird and bat activity across the plantation. In doing so, I may be able to draw conclusions as to where connectivity is lacking, so that additional habitat can be created to fill these gaps. I combine this with a proxy measure of pest control (dummy caterpillars) to evaluate how the presence of habitat patches influences potential pest control and whether this correlates to bird and bat activity. I also explore the use of artificial bird perches to enhance seed dispersal and potential natural regeneration in specific areas, and evaluate how their effectiveness varies based on landscape context. If they prove successful then they will be implemented to aid in the creation of new habitat patches or the extension of existing ones.
In addition to this, I work on agroforestry, using functional diversity as a tool for species selection to promote complementarity as well as identifying potential synergies that may occur via organic cultivation of agroforestry products.
CV
BSc in Ecology from the University of East Anglia and the University of British Columbia
MSc in Landscape Ecology from the University of Hohenheim
