Carsten DormannView profile
Professor
Carsten Dormann is a Full Professor at the University of Freiburg since 2011, working in the Department of Biometry and Environmental System Analysis within the Faculty of Biology. His work bridges statistical methodology with ecological applications, focusing on improving analytical approaches in environmental science. He leads research on statistical ecology, species distribution modeling, and plant-pollinator interactions, with a strong emphasis on methodological rigor and evidence-based environmental science. Professor Dormann completed his Diploma (equivalent to an MSc) in Biology at the University of Kiel (1996), followed by a PhD in Plant Ecology from the University of Aberdeen (2001) under Dr. Sarah Woodin and Prof. Steve Albon. He earned his Habilitation at the University of Göttingen (2008), and worked as a PostDoc and Senior Research Scientist at the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research-UFZ (2002-2011) before joining Freiburg. Dr. Dormann's research focuses on comparing, challenging and improving the toolbox of statistical ecology . He investigates how ecological datasets, often small but complex, can be properly analyzed when common statistical approaches may fail. His work emphasizes formal statistical integration of ecological models and data , advocating for rigorous representation of ecological understanding through quantitative predictions. He champions an evidence focus in environmental science , drawing parallels with evidence-based medicine to promote transparent evaluation of causal mechanisms. Specific areas include spatial autocorrelation, null models, collinearity, species distribution modeling, and plant-pollinator interactions. His recent publications reveal a strong focus on ecological network analysis, species distribution modeling under climate change, and methodological improvements in ecological statistics. The research spans theoretical developments in network topology and practical applications in conservation, with increasing integration of machine learning approaches while maintaining ecological interpretability. A notable trend is the emphasis on temporal dynamics in ecological systems and developing more robust methods for predicting ecological responses to environmental change. Professor Dormann currently supervises twelve PhD students across various ecological and statistical topics, with an extensive record of past supervision spanning over thirty doctoral candidates. His teaching contributions include authoring the textbook Environmental Data Analysis: An Introduction with Examples in R (2017) and developing statistics courses for environmental sciences. He maintains an active scholarly blog discussing methodological challenges in ecology, with recent posts addressing species richness metrics, bias-variance trade-offs, and the relationship between ecological science and policy. His work bridges theoretical statistical development with practical ecological applications, emphasizing scientific credibility and methodological rigor throughout.
