Prof. Dr. Katrin Heer

• Since 2021
  Professor of Forest Genetics Albert-Ludwigs Universität Freiburg
• Since 2021
  Emmy Noether Junior group leader (started at Philipps Universität Marburg, continued at Albert-Ludwigs Universität Freiburg)
• 2016 – 2021
  Postdoc in Professorship of Conservation Biology, Philipps Universität Marburg
• 2013 – 2016
  Postdoc in BiodivERsA project TipTree, in working groups of Conservation Biology & Department of Ecology, Philipps Universität Marburg
• 2009 – 2013
  PhD student at the Universität Ulm with Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Kalko on “Plant-animal interactions and gene flow in Neotropical rainforests”
• 2003-2008
  Study of Biology at Universität Ulm and Universidad de Costa Rica

• Local adaptation of forest trees
• Importance of epigenetics for acclimatization in trees
• Gene flow and diversity in forest tree populations
• Animal-plant interactions

My team and I are teaching a diverse set of courses in Forest Sciences and Environmental Sciences at the BSc and MSc levels. Elective modules are not offered annually but based on availability

Bachelor

• Forest Genetics & Breeding (BSc Forst Sciences)
• Naturschutzbiologie (BSc, Nebenfach Naturschutz und Landschaftspflege)
• Citizen Science – Wissenschaft für alle (Elective Module)

Master, my working group is teaching several courses dealing with the understanding and analysis of genetic and genomic data in forestry and conservation, including

• Genetic and genomic methods in forest management and conservation (MSc, Major Forst Ecology Research)
• Genetische Methoden in Naturschutz und Forstwirtschaft (MSc, Major Forstwirtschaft/Landnutzung und Naturschutz)
• Bioinformatics (MSc, Major Environmental Modelling and Data Sciences)
• Landscape genetics (MSc, Elective Module)
• Forest Genetics Research Lab (MSc, Elective Module)

Also involved in the following courses:

• Environmental Microbiology and Biochemistry (BSc Environmental Sciences)
• Fauna and Flora (BSc Environmental Sciences and Forest Sciences)
• Recognizing and identifying species (BSc, Major Conservation and Land Use)
• Professional approaches and research skills (MSc Forest Sciences)

2026

• Shuvo MJ, Wohlwend M, Heer K, Paillet Y, Segelbacher G (2026) Influence of deadwood, tree-related microhabitats, and forest structural features on saproxylic arthropod diversity. Ecology and Evolution
• Metz T, Farwig N, Dormann CF, Schaefer HM, Guevara Andino JE, Brehm G, Burneo S, Chao A, Chazdon RL, Colwell RK, Diniz UM, Donoso AD, Endara MJ, Erazo S, Escobar S, Falconí-López A, Feldhaar H, Garcia Villamarin M, Grella N, Heer K, Heethoff M, Keller A, Landim AR, Leonhardt SD, Tamargo Lopez E, Marín-Armijos D, Müller J, Neira-Salamea K, Neuschulz EL, Pedersen KM, Rödel MO, Schleuning M, Schmitt T, Staab M, Tartara A, Tinoco BA, Tremlett CJ, Tschapka M, Unsicker S, Villa-Galaviz E, Blüthgen N (2026) Biodiversity resilience in a tropical rainforest. Nature 8:1-8. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10365-2
• Sekely J, Arana V, Marchelli P, Pastorino M, Scotti I, Soliani C, Opgenoorth L, Heer K (2026) A mosaic of maladaptation hotspots predicted for the widespread tree Nothofagus pumilio. Evolutionary Applications 19(3) e70227. https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.70227
• Mainardi M, Thiel S, Heer K, Heymann WE, Shahuano Tello N, Kalbitzer U (2026) Unravelling the phenology of the liana Marcgravia longifolia: temporal patterns and climatic cues. Biotropica 58(2): e70192. https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.70192
• Aravanopoulos F, Farsakoglou AM, Dauphin B, Olsson S, Pinosio S, Milesi P, Reutimann O, Ullrich K, Liepelt S, Spanu I, Piotti A, Bagnoli F, Alizoti P, Heer K, Opgenoorth L, Vendramin GG, González-Martínez S, Alía R, Grivet D, Rellstab C, Gugerli F, Fady B, Scotti I (2026) Genome-wide data to assist conservation in five European conifer species. Scientific Data.
• Zamora-Ballesteros C, Diez JJ, Pinto G, Alves A, Heer K, Martín-García J (2026) Dual RNA-seq analysis reveals differences in defensive lncRNA expression in Pinus spp. with varying susceptibility to Fusarium circinatum. BMC Plant Biol 26, 326. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-026-08182-w
• Gottstein M, Heer K, Heymann EW (2026) Seed dispersal by monk sakis (Pithecia monachus). Primates. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-026-01251-6
• Harmel J, Konrad H, Schueler S, Heer K, Gratzer G, Schadauer T, Pesendorfer M. (2026) Silver fir seed viability varies with age, fir-associated forest cover, and abiotic conditions of seed harvest stands across Austria. Journal of Applied Ecology 63(4) e70349. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.70349
• Olsson S, Feichter J, Avanzi C, Mestre Runge C, Cabanillas A, Sekely J, Alonso M, Heer K, Opgenoorth L, Piotti A, Alía R, Grivet D, Heinze B, Notivol E. (2026) Clonality in European black poplar conservation units using genomics. Forest Systems

2025

• Gottstein M, Thiel S, Vornhagen JL, Mengel C, Tschapka M, Heymann EW, Heer K (2025). Gene flow and vertical stratification of pollination in the bat‐pollinated liana Marcgravia longifolia. Ecology and Evolution, 15(8):e72050. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.72050
• Huth F, Tischer A, Nikolova P, Feldhaar H, Wehnert A, Hülsmann L, Bauhus J, Heer K, Vogt J, Ammer C, Berger U et al. (2025) Ecological assessment of forest management approaches to develop resilient forests in the face of global change in Central Europe. Basic and Applied Ecology 86, 66-100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2025.05.001
• Soliani C, Sekely J, Zamora Ballesteros C, Heer K, Lepais O, Mondino V, Opgenoorth L, Pastorino M, Marchelli P (2025) Restricted dispersal in the late-successional species Nothofagus pumilio: consequences under global change. Ecology and Evolution, 15 (5) e71002. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71002
• Losch N, Heer K, Dudschuss B, Semizer-Cuming D, Michiels HG & Neophytou C (2025) Variation in seed traits, leaf phenology and growth performance among sessile oak provenances from Baden-Wurttemberg and Alsace. Silvae Genetica, 74(1), 31-43. https://doi.org/10.2478/sg-2025-0005

2024

• Thiel S, Gottstein M, Heymann EW, Kroszewski J, Lieker N, Shahuano Tello N, Tschapka M, Junker RR, Heer K (2024) Vertically stratified interactions of nectarivores and nectar-inhabiting bacteria in a liana flowering across forest strata. American Journal of Botany 111 (3): e16303. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.163032023
• Zhou Q, Karunarathne P, Andersson-Li L, Chen C, Opgenoorth L, Heer K, Vendramin GG, Piotti A, Nakvasina E, Lascoux M, Milesi P (2024) Recurrent hybridization and gene flow shaped Norway and Siberian spruce evolutionary history over multiple glacial cycles. Molecular Ecology 33, e17495. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17495
• Pena-Ponton C, Diez-Rodriguez B, Perez-Bello P, Becker B, McIntyre LM, van der Putten WH, De Paoli E, Heer K, Opgenoorth L, Verhoeven KJF (2024) High-resolution methylome analysis uncovers stress-responsive genomic hotspots and drought-sensitive TE superfamilies in the clonal Lombardy poplar. Journal of Experimental Botany. erae262. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erae262
• Sekely J, Marchelli P, Arana V, Dauphin B, Mattera MG, Pastorino M, Scotti I, Soliani C, Heer K, Opgenoorth L (2024). Genomic responses to climate: Understanding local adaptation in the Andean tree species Nothofagus pumilio and implications for a changing world. Plants People Planet 6, 902-920. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10504

2023

• Gottstein M, Morris AL, Heer K, Heymann EW (2023) Feeding ecology of monk sakis (Pithecia monachus) in a seasonally flooded forest in western Amazonia. Primates, Volume 64, pages 527–537. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-023-01074-9
• Thiel S, Willems F, Farwig N, Schabo D, Schleuning M, Shahuano Tello N, Töpfer T, Tschapka M, Heymann EW, Heer K (2023). Vertically stratified frugivore community composition and interaction frequency in a liana fruiting across forest strata. Biotropica. https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.13216

2022

• Heymann EW, Thiel S, Paciência F, Rimachi Taricuarima MN, Zárate Gómez R, Shahuano Tello N, Heer K, Sennhenn-Reulen H, Mundry R. 2022. Non-random host tree infestation by the Neotropical liana Marcgravia longifolia. PeerJ 10:e14535 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14535
• Zacharias M, Pampuch, Dauphin B, Opgenoorth L, Roland C,  Schnittler M, Wilmking M, Bog M, Heer K (2022) Genetic basis of growth reaction to drought stress differs in contrasting high-latitude treeline ecotones of a widespread conifer. Molecular Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16648
• Mishra B, Ulaszewski B, Meger J, Aury JM, Bodénès C, Lesur-Kupin I, Pfenninger M, Da Silva C, Gupta DK, Guichoux E, Heer K, Lalanne C, Labadie K, Opgenoorth L, Ploch S, Le Provost G, Salse J, Scotti I, Wötzel S, Plomion C, Burczyk J, Thines (2022) A chromosome-level genome assembly of the European beech (Fagus sylvatica) reveals anomalies for organelle DNA integration, repeat content and distribution of SNPs. Frontiers in Genetics 12, 691058, doi: 10.3389/fgene.2021.691058
• Neophytou C, Heer K, Milesi P, Peter M, Pyhäjärvi T, Westergren M, Rellstab C, Gugerli F (2022). Genomics and adaptation in forest ecosystems. Tree Genetics & Genomes, 18(2), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-022-01542-1

2021

• Ramirez-Valiente J, Solé-Medina A, Pyhäjärvi T, Savolainen O, Heer K, Opgenoorth L, Danusevicius D, Robledo-Arnuncio JJ (2022) Adaptive responses to temperature and precipitation variation at the early-life stages of Pinus sylvestris. New Phytologist 232 (4), 1632-1647. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17678
• Zacharias M, Pampuch T, Heer K, Avanzi C, Würth DG, Trouillier M, Bog M, Wilmking M, Schnittler M (2021) Population structure and the influence of microenvironment and genetic similarity on individual growth at Alaskan white spruce treelines. STOTEN, 798, 149267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149267
• Major E, Höhn M, Avanzi C, Fady B, Heer K, Opgenoorth L, Piotti A, Popescu  F, Postolache D, Vendramin GG, Csilléry K (2021) Spatial genetic structure at local and global scales across the species range in silver fir (Abies alba Mill.). Molecular Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16107
• Can SN, Nunn A, Galanti D, Langenberger D, Becker C, Volmer K, Heer K, Opgenoorth L, Fernandez-Pozo N, Rensing S (2021) The EpiDiverse plant Epigenome-Wide Association Studies (EWAS) pipeline. Epigenomes 5(2), 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/epigenomes5020012
• Estravis-Barcala M, Heer K, Marchelli P, Ziegenhagen B, Arana MV, Bellora N. (2021) Deciphering the transcriptomic regulation of heat stress responses in Nothofagus pumilio. PLoS ONE 16(3): e0246615. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246615
• Opgenoorth L, Dauphin B, Benavides R, Heer K, Alizoti P, Martínez-Sancho E, [108 authors in alphabetical order], Fady B, Myking T, Valladares F, Aravanopoulos F, Cavers S. (2021) The GenTree-Platform: linking phenotypes, tree-level environmental data, and genotypes in twelve major European forest tree species. GigaScience 10(3). giab010. https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giab010
• Thiel S, Tschapka M, Heymann EW*, Heer K* (2021) Vertical stratification of frugivorous vertebrate communities and their interactions with plants in tropical forests. Biological Reviews 96(2) 454-469. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12664
• Benavides R, Carvalho B, Bastias CC, López-Quiroga D, Mas A, Cavers S [93 authors in alphabethical order, including Heer K], Fady B, Valladares F (2021) The GenTree Leaf Collection: inter- and intraspecific leaf variation in seven forest tree species in Europe. Global Ecology and Biogeography 30(3) 590-597. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13239
• Ramirez-Valiente J, Solé-Medina A, Pyhäjärvi T, Savolainen O, Cervantes S, Kesalahti R, Kujala S, Kumpula T, Heer K, Opgenoorth L, Siebertz J, Danusevicius D, Notivol E, Benavides R, Robledo-Arnuncio JJ (2021) Adaptive responses to climate variation at the early stages in Pinus sylvestris. New Phytologist 229(5) 3009-3025. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17029

2020

• Barthel D, Schuler H, Galli J, Borruso L, Geier J, Heer K, Burckhardt D, Janik K (2020) Identification of plant DNA in adults of the phytoplasma vector Cacopsylla picta helps understanding its feeding behavior. Insects 11(12), 835.  https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11120835
• Solé-Medina A, Heer K, Opgenoorth L, Kaldewey P, Danusevicius D, Notivol E, Robledo-Arnuncio JJ, Ramírez-Valiente JA (2020). Genetic variation in early fitness traits across European populations of silver birch (Betula pendula). AOB Plants Journal, 12(3), plaa019. https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plaa019
• Avanzi C, Heer K, Büntgen U, Labriola M, Leonardi S, Opgenoorth L, Piermattei A, Urbinati C, Vendramin GG, Piotti A (2020). Individual reproductive success in Norway spruce natural populations depends on growth rate, age and sensitivity to temperature. Heredity, 124(4), 685-698. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41437-020-0305-0
• Martínez-Sancho E, Slámová L, Morganti S, Grefen C, Carvalho B, Dauphin B, Rellstab C, Gugerli F, Opgenoorth L, Heer K, Knutzen F, von Arx G, Valladares F, Cavers C, Bruno Fady [54 authors on alphabethical order] Fonti P (2020) The GenTree Dendroecological Collection, tree-ring and wood density data from seven tree species across Europe. Sci Data, 7(1), 1-7. doi:10.1038/s41597-019-0340-y
• Estravis-Barcala M, Mattera MG, Soliani S, Bellora N, Opgenoorth L, Heer K, Arana MV (2020) Molecular bases of responses to abiotic stress in trees. Journal of Experimental Botany, 71(13), 3765-3779.  https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erz532

2019

• Heymann EW, Culot L, Knogge C, Smith AC, Tirado Herrera ER, Stojan-Dolar M, Lledo Ferrer Y, Petra Kubisch, Kupsch D, Slana D, Koopmann ML, Ziegenhagen B, Bialozy R, Mengel C, Hambuckers J, Heer K (2019) Small Neotropical primates promote the natural regeneration of anthropogenically disturbed areas. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-46683-x.
  • Highlighted in the Science Magazine
• Gelmi-Candusso TA, Slana D, Zarata-Gomez R, Heymann EW, Heer K. (2019) Estimating seed dispersal distance: a comparison of methods using animal movement and plant genetic data. Ecology and Evolution, 9(16), 8965-8977. https ://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5422
• Mosca E, Cruz F, Gómez-Garrido J, Bianco L, Rellstab C, Brodbeck S, Csilléry K, Fady B, Fladung M, Fussi B, Gömöry D, González-Martínez SC, Grivet D, Gut M, Hansen OK, Heer K, Kaya Z, Krutovsky KV, Kersten B, Liepelt S, Opgenoorth L, Sperisen C, Ullrich KK, Vendramin GG, Westergren M, Ziegenhagen B, Alioto T, Gugerli F, Heinze B, Höhn M, Troggio M, Neale, DB (2019) A reference genome sequence for the european silver fir (Abies alba Mill.): a community-generated genomic resource. G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics, 9(7), 2039-49. https://doi.org/10.1534/g3.119.400083
• Avanzi C, Piermattei A, Piotti A, Buntgen U, Heer K, Opgenoorth L, Spanu I, Urbinati C, Vendramin GG, Leonardi S (2019) Disentangling the effects of spatial proximity and genetic similarity on in situ growth performances of Picea abies. Science of the Total Environment. Science of the Total Environment, 650(1), 493-504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.348

2018

• Ammer C, Fichtner A, Fischer A, Gossner MM, Meyer P, Seidl R, Thomas FM, Annighöfer P, Kreyling J, Ohse B, Berger U, Feldmann E,  Häberle KH, Heer K, Heinrichs S, Huth F, Krämer-Klement K, Mölder A, Mund M, Opgenoorth L, Schall P, Scherer-Lorenzen M, Seidel D, Vogt J, Wagner S (2018) Key ecological research questions for Central European forests. Basic and Applied Ecology, 31, 3-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2018.07.006
• Heer K*, Ullrich KK*, Hiss M, Liepelt S, Schulze-Brüning R, Zhou J, Opgenoorth L Rensing SA (2018) Detection of somatic epigenetic variation in Norway spruce via targeted bisulfite sequencing. Ecology and Evolution, 8(19), 9672-9682.  https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4374
• Heer K*, Behringer D*, Piermattei A, Bässler C, Brandl R, Fady B, Jehl, H, Liepelt S, Lorch S, Piotti A, Vendramin GG, Weller M, Ziegenhagen B, Büntgen U, Opgenoorth L (2018) Linking dendroecology and association genetics in natural populations: Stress responses archived in tree rings associate with SNP genotypes in Abies alba (Mill.) Molecular Ecology, 27(6), 1428-1438. doi: 10.1111/mec.14538
• Heer K, Mounger J, Boquete MT, Richards CL, Opgenoorth L (2018) The diversifying field of plant epigenetics. New Phytologist, 217(3), 988–992. doi: 10.1111/nph.14985

2017

• Gelmi-Cardusso TA, Heymann EW, Heer K (2017) Effects of zoochory on the spatial genetic structure of plant populations. Molecular Ecology, 26(21), 5896-5910. doi: 10.1111/mec.14351
• Torroba-Balmori P, Budde KB, Heer K, González-Martínez SC, Olsson S, Scotti-Saintagne C, Casalis M, Sonké B, Dick CW, Heuertz M. (2017) Altitudinal gradients, biogeographic history and microhabitat adaptation affect fine-scale spatial genetic structure in African and Neotropical populations of an ancient tropical tree species. PLoS ONE 12(8): e0182515. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0182515
• Richards CL, Alonso C, Becker C, Bossdorf O, Bucher E, Colome-Tatche M, Durka W, Engelhardt J, Gaspar B, Gogol-Döring A, Grosse I, Gurp TP van, Heer K, Kronholm I, Lampei C, Latzel V, Mirouze M, Opgenoorth L, Paun O, Prohaska S, Rensing SA, Stadler P, Trucchi E, Ullrich K, Verhoeven KJF (2017) Ecological plant epigenetics: Evidence from model and non-model species, and the way forward. Ecology Letters 20: 1576–1590. DOI: 10.1111/ele.12858
• Villalobos-Chaves D, Spínola-Parallada M, Heer K, Kalko EKV, Rodríguez-Herrera B (2017) Implications of a specialized diet on the foraging behavior of the Honduran white bat Ectophylla alba. Journal of Mammalogy, 98(4), 1193-1201. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyx044

2016 and before

• Heer K*, Ullrich KK*, Liepelt S, Rensing SA, Zhou J, Ziegenhagen B, Opgenoorth L (2016) Detection of SNPs based on transcriptome sequencing in Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst). Conservation Genetics Resources, 8(2), 105-107. doi: 10.1007/s12686-016-0520-4
• Heer K, Kalko EKV, Albrecht L, García-Villacorta, R, Staeps FC, Herre EA, & Dick CW (2015). Spatial Scales of Genetic Structure in Free-Standing and Strangler Figs (Ficus, Moraceae) Inhabiting Neotropical Forests. PloS ONE, 10(7), e0133581. doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0133581
• Heer K*, Helbig-Bonitz M*, Fernandes RG, Mello, MAR, Kalko EKV (2015) Effects of land use on bat diversity in a complex plantation-forest landscape in northeastern Brazil. Journal of Mammalogy, 96(4), 720-731. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyv068
• Heer K, Machado CA, Himler AG, et al. (2012) Anonymous and EST-based Microsatellite DNA markers that transfer broadly across the fig tree genus (Ficus L. Moraceae). American Journal of Botany 99, e330-e333. doi: 10.3732/ajb.1200032
• Heer K, Albrecht L, Kalko EKV (2010) Effects of ingestion by neotropical bats on germination parameters of native free-standing and strangler figs (Ficus sp., Moraceae). Oecologia 163, 425-436. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-010-1600-x

* authors with equal contributions

• since 2020
  Associate Editor of Tree Genetics and Genomes
• since 2022 
  Selection committee member for Georg Forster Research Fellowships (Alexander von Humboldt Foundation)