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Carolin Plos

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Plant Ecology work group

Scientific Employment

Since 2023

Scientific employee, coordination of the international masters program 'Biodiversity Sciences', Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Prof. Dr. Helge Bruelheide

2022

Scientific Employee, Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin-Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg, Prof. Dr. Isabell Hensen

2021-2022

Scientific Employee, (parental leave replacement), Institute of Ecology and Evolution with Herbarium Haussknecht and Botanical Garden, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Prof. Dr. Christine Römermann

Research focus

In my PhD project I investigate the variability of plant phenology and plant functional traits with a special focus on floral traits. As part of the PhenObs Project I´m mainly working in Botanical Gardens in Germany (Halle, Berlin and Jena). One goal of my project is to examine possible relationships between phenology and floral traits including pollinator resources like nectar and pollen.

Furthermore, I am interested in phenological shifts and the variation of floral traits under future climate conditions. To investigate this, I´m working within a large global change experiment in Bad Lauchstädt, Germany (Global Change Experimental Facility).

As my focus is on floral traits and the quantity and quality of floral resources I am also interested in plant-pollinator interactions and how these are affected by climate warming.

Education

Since 2018

PhD candidate at Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg

“The relationship between phenology and functional traits in the face of climate change”

Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Isabell Hensen, Prof. Dr. Christine Römermann (Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena)

Master thesis (2017)

„Co-occurrence Netzwerke des FFH-Lebensraumtyps Brenndolden-Auenwiesen im lokalen und regionalen Vergleich“

Supervisors: Dr. Erik Welk, Prof. Dr. Helge Bruelheide

Bachelor thesis (2013)

„Kombinierte Effekte von UV-B und Trockenstress auf native und invasive Herkünfte von Verbascum thapsus L.“

Supervisor: Dr. Maria Hock , Prof. Dr. Alexandra Erfmeier

Publications

Plos, C., Stelbrink, N., Römermann, C., Knight, T.M., Hensen, I., 2023.  Abiotic conditions affect nectar properties and flower visitation in  four herbaceous plant species. Flora 303, 152279.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.flora.2023.152279   

Sporbert, M., Jakubka, D., Bucher, S.F., Hensen, I., Freiberg, M.,  Heubach, K., König, A., Nordt, B., Plos, C., Blinova, I., Bonn, A.,  Knickmann, B., Koubek, T., Linstädter, A., Mašková, T., Primack, R.B.,  Rosche, C., Shah, M.A., Stevens, A.-D., Tielbörger, K., Träger, S.,  Wirth, C. and Römermann, C. (2022), Functional traits influence patterns  in vegetative and reproductive plant phenology – a multi-botanical  garden study. New Phytol, 235: 2199-2210.  https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.18345   

Nordt, B., Hensen, I., Bucher, S.F., Freiberg, M., Primack, R.B.,  Stevens, A.-D., Bonn, A., Wirth, C., Jakubka, D., Plos, C., Sporbert,  M., Römermann, C., 2021. The PhenObs initiative: A standardised protocol  for monitoring phenological responses to climate change using  herbaceous plant species in botanical gardens. Functional Ecology 35,  821–834. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13747   

Hock, M., Plos, C., Sporbert, M., & Erfmeier, A. (2020)  Combined Effects of UV‐B and Drought on Native and Exotic Populations of  Verbascum thapsus L. Plants, 9 (2), 269. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9020269   

Conference contributions

Plos, C., Hensen, I., Korell, L., Auge, H., Römermann, C. (2023): Climate and land-use interactively affect the flowering phenology of grassland species. 52nd Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of Germany, Austria and Switzerland (GfÖ), Leipzig, Germany, 12.-16.09.2023 (Talk)

Plos, C., Hensen, I., Sporbert, M., Jakubka, D., Dunker, S., Hornick, T., Nordt, B., Lenk, A., Walther, F., Römermann, C.  (2023): Do floral traits explain phenological patterns in herbaceous  plants? 52nd Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of Germany,  Austria and Switzerland (GfÖ), Leipzig, Germany, 12.-16.09.2023 (Poster)

Plos, C, Römermann, C., Hensen, I. (2022): Varying responses of  flowering phenology to future climate on meadows versus pastures.  Frontiers in Experimental Research on Changing Environments, Helmholz  Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Leipzig, Germany,  07.-09.06.2022 (Talk)

Plos, C., Stelbrink, N., Rosche, C., Knight, T., Hensen, I. & Römermann, C. (2020): The effect of temperature on nectar production and pollinator visitation rates in four herbaceous species. 34th Annual Meeting of the Scandinavian Association for Pollination (SCAPE), Virtual Conference University of Northampton. 6.-8.11.2020 (Poster)

Plos, C., Rosche, C., Hensen, I. & Römermann, C. (2019): Species-specific responses of nectar quantity and pollinator frequency to temperature. 62^nd IAVS Symposium of the International Association for Vegetation Science (IAVS), Bremen, Germany. 14.-19.07.2019 (Poster)

Plos, C., Römermann, C. & Hensen, I. (2019): Plant species responses to changing climate – the relationship between phenology, functional diversity and genetic diversity. PopBio - 32nd Conference of the Specialist Group Plant Population Biology of the Ecological Society of Germany, Austria and Switzerland (GfÖ), Warsaw, Poland. 23.-25.05. 2019 (Poster)

Plos, C., Römermann, C. & Hensen, I. (2018): Plant species responses to changing climate – the relationship between phenology, functional diversity and genetic diversity. 4^th iDiv Annual Conference, Leipzig, Germany. 11.-12.12.2018. (Poster)

Plos, C., Jandt, U. & Welk, E. (2018): Cross-scale transferability of co-occurrence relationships in Central German floodplain meadows. 17th workshop of the German working group on vegetation databases, Jena, Germany 14.-16.03.2018. (Poster)

Hock, M., Plos, C., Sporbert, M. & Erfmeier, A. (2014): UV-B radiation and drought – Combined stress effects on native and exotic origins of Verbascum thapsus L. 44th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Hildesheim, Germany, 08.-12.09.2014. (Poster)

Teaching

Summer semester 2023

Practical field course Müritz National park (teacher training students Biology)

Botanical and zoological Excursions as part of the International Master  Biodiversity Sciences (focal points: Orchids and drygrasslands; wolves  in Germany)

Summer semester 2022

Practical field course Müritz National park (teacher training students Biology)

Geobotanical exercises with excursions (Friedrich Schiller University Jena) together with Gabriel Walther and Josephine Ulrich

Co-supervision master thesis of Nahid Rasouli Paeenroudposhti "Linking  patterns in flowering phenology with the seasonal variation in flower  traits, pollinator diversity and density" (Main supervisior Prof.  Christine Römermann)

Summer semester 2020

Supervision Bachelor thesis Niklas Stelbrink "The effect of temperature and soil moisture on plant-pollinator interactions and sucrose in nectar"

Summer semester 2019

Field Ecology course (for Ms. students Biology)

with Prof. Isabell Hensen, Dr. Christoph Rosche, Dr. Monika Partzsch

• guiding pollinator observations, nectar sampling and plant trait measurements, supporting statistical analysis

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