Christian Anton is exploring trophic interactions in the Maculinea system, which are more complex than in any other butterfly system. Bottom -up forces are not restricted to one host plant, but split into the food plant and the host ant species. Christian is using experimental and descriptive methods to understand the functional relationships between Maculinea nausithous, the host ant Myrmica rubra, the food plant Sanguisorba officinalis and the parasitic wasp Neotypus pusillus. He is investigating the top-down impact and the functional role of parasitoids in the Maculinea system. A substantial part of his research is on the metapopulation genetics of Neotypus pusillus in the Upper Rhine valley. Using microsatellite genetic markers he aims to detect the migration of wasps between populations. Together with project partners in Copenhagen he will be able to answer the question whether host and parasitoid populations are affected by habitat fragmentation and whether possible effects differ between trophic levels.

Uta Glinka’s research is based on the hypothesis that a certain density of host ants is supposed to be the key factor for the occurrence and the survival of Maculinea. The main focus is to interrelate quantitative and qualitative aspects of Maculinea and ant population distributions by means. Considering the fact that the ant community and nest distribution are determined by multiple environmental parameters, it is necessary to quantify the most important biotic and abiotic parameters. Ant population distribution patterns resulting from this will be analysed with respect to the spatial distribution of nests of different species. The sites within the study area are situated around the city of Leipzig, Germany, and the communities are particularly affected by fragmentation. Overall, the data feed into larger biogeographical comparisons throughout Europe.