Kelly Penning, BSc
Room 514
Kelly.Penning@student.uibk.ac.at
Living in beautiful Innsbruck for six years now, I already did a bachelor’s degree in biology here and am currently studying for a master’s degree in Ecology and Biodiversity.
I am most interested in ecosystems as a whole and the interactions of their inhabitants. It is already fascinating to analyse a system in equilibrium, but it becomes even more exciting when new native or invasive species come into play. Although, or precisely because, I prefer wild nature, I am also very interested in the effects of anthropogenic influence in ecosystems.
My Master’s thesis, which I am doing in collaboration with Marion Pranter and Iris Schlick-Steiner, combines both topics. We are investigating the effects of hemeroby in Innsbruck and surroundings on certain arthropods. For this, I am working with the ant species Formica fuscocinerea.
Research topics
Conservation biology
Myrmecology
Population genetics and genomics
Trophic ecology
Urban ecology