Institute of Evolution and Ecology (EvE)

Julia Geue

Research interests

I am interested in evolutionary ecology and genetics, and the conservation of biodiversity. In my PhD project I focus on the implementation of landscape genomics into conservation prioritization. I investigate the intraspecific genetic variation of three species (House sparrow, Passer domesticus;Buff-tailed bumblebee, Bombus terrestris; and Narrowleaf plantain,Plantago lanceolata) in an environmental context in Bulgaria and Romania. I first conduct whole genome sequencing, and compare non-functional with functional genetic markers to assess how well each can represent one another in an attempt to maximize a species’ evolutionary potential. In a second step, I compare how well this so-called environmentally associated variation (EAV) is captured by other measures of biodiversity such as habitat diversity and species richness. The final aim of my PhD project is to design protected areas and develop an integrative conservation prioritization scheme for both countries. The results of the final prioritization will be considered in conservation decisions by collaborators.

Education

2016 - now PhD thesis at the University of Tübingen, Germany Preliminary title: “Landscape genomics as a useful tool for conservation prioritization: a multi-species study in Eastern Europe”

2016 - 2018 PhD scholarship by Landesgraduiertenförderung Baden-Württemberg

2012 - 2015 Msc in Biology (Evolution and Ecology) at the University of Tübingen; Title: “Landscape genetics of the House sparrow (Passer domesticus) for conservation prioritization in Eastern Europe”

Attended Conferences

2020 4th Annual Meeting in Conservation Genetics in Frankfurt, Germany

Contribution: Oral presentation

2019 Meeting Steve (Students in Evolution and Ecology) in Tübingen, Germany

Contribution: Oral presentation

2019 12th European Ornithologists’ Union Congress 2019 (EOU2019) in Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Contribution: Oral presentation

2019 29th International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB 2019) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Contribution: Oral presentation

2018 3rdAnnual Meeting on Conservation Genetics in Vienna, Austria

Contribution: Poster

2017 6th International Symposium for Research in Protected Areas in Salzburg, Austria

Contribution: Attendance

2017 Conference for Conservation of adaptive potential and functional diversity in Durham, England

Contribution: Attendance

2016 Meeting Steve (Students in Evolution and Ecology) in Tübingen, Germany

Contribution:Poster

Workshops

2017 Landscape genomics course in Berlin, Germany

2017 Spatial conservation planning course in Vairoa, Portugal

2016 GIS workshop in Tübingen, Germany

Publications

Geue, J. C., & Thomassen, H. A. (2020). Unraveling the habitat preferences of two closely related bumble bee species in Eastern Europe.   Ecology and Evolution

J.C. Geue, C.I. Vágási, M. Schweizer, P.L. Pap, H.A. Thomassen. Environmental selection is a main driver of divergence in house sparrows (Passer domesticus) in Romania and Bulgaria. Ecology and Evolution6.22 (2016): 7954-7964. Ecology and Evolution