Linjia Huang

PhD student

Office Nr.	116, main building, 1st floor
Phone	+41 31 684 49 34
E-Mail	linjia.huang@ips.unibe.ch

I am working on BugNet. I will investigate the interactions between enemies and mutualists and how mycorrhizal fungi modify the impact of enemies on plant community composition, diversity and productivity. I will take advantage of the global research network “BugNet” (bug-net.org), which was established to better understand the impact and interacting effects of invertebrate herbivores and fungal pathogens on plant communities, and how this impact depends on climatic or other abiotic variables. In this network, collaborators around globe set up experiments, where aboveground insect herbivores, molluscs and fungal pathogens are excluded from herbaceous communities. The experimental set up is ideal to further investigate how consumers interact and this PhD will explore the mechanisms behind these interactions by looking at how consumers affect belowground and phyllosphere microbial communities.

Project: BugNet project