Dr.Silvia Keinath
Vita
"01/2026 - 12/2026 Visiting Scientist
Museum für Naturkunde Berlin - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science | Research Cluster NaturBerlin
▪ Development of grant proposals on biodiversity dynamics across land-use systems
08/2023 - 12/2025 Postdoctoral Researcher
Museum für Naturkunde Berlin - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science | Research Cluster NaturBerlin | Interdisciplinary project: Vielfalt Verstehen – Natur erforschen und erleben | Funded by the Berlin Senate Department for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and Environment (SenMVKU)
▪ Evaluation of datasets and methods to support policy-relevant decision-making
▪ Development of a city-scale Living Planet Index
07/2023 - 12/2023 Postdoctoral Researcher | Project Lead and Coordinator
Museum für Naturkunde Berlin - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science | Research Cluster NaturBerlin | Innovation Fund project: Local species loss in Berlin across the Anthropocene | Funded by the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin
▪ Analysis of species loss in Berlin using Red Lists of Threatened Plants, Animals and Fungi
07/2022 - 06/2023 Postdoctoral Researcher
Museum für Naturkunde Berlin - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science | Research Cluster NaturBerlin
▪ Development of a metadata base for local biodiversity time series
▪ Evaluation and application of biodiversity indices at the city-scale
03/2019 - 06/2022 Research Associate | Visiting Scientist | Project Coordinator
Museum für Naturkunde Berlin - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science | Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB) | Collaborative project: Bridging in Biodiversity Science (BIBS) | Subproject: Effects of ecological novelty on aquatic ecosystems | Funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
▪ Analysis of land-use, biotic and abiotic factors on aquatic insect diversity in urban ponds
05/2016 - 02/2019 Doctoral Researcher | Dr. rer. nat. | magna cum laude
Museum für Naturkunde Berlin - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science | Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB) | Faculty of Life Science, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin | Collaborative project: Bridging in Biodiversity Science (BIBS) | Subproject: Spatio-temporal trait change in insect species along land-use gradients | Funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
▪ Collection-based long-term analyses of morphological, biochemical and ecological trait changes in insects across the Anthropocene
Dissertation: Spatio-temporal trait change in selected insect species along land-use gradients
04/2013 - 09/2015 Master of Science in Biology
Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg | Animal Ecology, Behavioural Physiology and Sociobiology
Master‘s thesis: Auswirkungen der Lichtverschmutzung auf Nachtfalter in einer städtischen Region | Effects of light pollution on moths in an urban region
10/2009 - 03/2013 Bachelor of Science in Biology
Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg | Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology
Bachelor’s thesis: Molekulare Analyse eines orthologen translationell kontrollierten Tumorproteins von Echinococcus multilocularis | Molecular analysis of an orthologous translationally controlled tumour protein from Echinococcus multilocularis
"
Further information
Memberships:
▪ Ecological Society of Germany, Austria and Switzerland (GfÖ)
▪ Jane Goodall Institute Germany
Reviewer activities:
Urban Ecosystems | Journal of Insect Science | Global Change Biology | Insect Science | Wetlands | Lighting Research & Technology | Environmental Monitoring & Assessment | Frontiers in Environmental Science | Frontiers in Ecology & Evolution
Publications
Keinath, S., Onandia, G., Griesbaum, F., Rödel, M.O. (2023). Effects of urbanization, biotic and abiotic factors on aquatic insect diversity in urban ponds. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 11, 1121400. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2023.1121400
Keinath, S., Frisch, J., Müller, J., Mayer, F., Struck, U., Rödel, M. (2023). Species‐ and sex‐dependent changes in body size between 1892 and 2017, and recent biochemical signatures in rural and urban populations of two ground beetle species. Ecology and Evolution, 13(7), e10329. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10329
Keinath, S., Sommerwerk, N., Scuto, L., Nello, T., Freyhof, J. (2025). First-time application of the IUCN urban Nature Indexes and its applicability for urban-related biodiversity conservation targets–A case study for Berlin, Germany. Ecological Indicators, 180, 114327. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.114327
Keinath, S., De Silva, S., Sommerwerk, N., Freyhof, J. (2024). High levels of species' extirpation in an urban environment—A case study from Berlin, Germany, covering 1700–2023. Ecology and Evolution, 14(7), e70018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70018
Keinath, S., Freyhof, J., Kasper, K., Lutz, M., Velder, R., Riestenpatt, D., Petzold, F., Schwarz, J., Ponick, W., Eidner, R., Meißner, J., Bengsch, S., Sommerwerk, N. (2025). Towards Global Biodiversity Framework Target 12: mapping urban biodiversity monitoring programmes – a case study for Berlin, Germany. Urban Ecosystems, 28(4), 146. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-025-01760-0
Keinath, S., Sommerwerk, N., Fienitz, M., Freyhof, J. (2025). From coverage to extension: Evaluating indices for biodiversity monitoring in cities to reflect global and EU biodiversity targets. Ecological Indicators, 171, 113223. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113223