Biodiversity in the Balance: Causes and Consequences

Download Poster

Volker Storch

Volker Storch received his Ph.D. from the University of Kiel in 1968, and a Habilitation from the same university in 1971. He has held professorships at the University of Hamburg, the University of Kiel, acted as guest professor in the Philippines and, since 1979, he has been Professor of Biology at the University of Heidelberg, where he was the Head of Department of Zoology and served as Dean of the Faculty of Biology.

Professor Storch is the author/co-author of nine books, which appeared in eight languages, and he has published 260 articles in peer-reviewed journals. One major theme in Professor Storch’s research has been concerned with the influence of anthropogenic stress factors upon several animal taxa, e.g. teleosts and isopods.

The latter play an important role in decomposition of dead organic matter in the soil. Isopods are unique in the fact that they have successfully invaded diverse land habitats from humid areas to deserts. Isopods are secondary decomposer organisms and represent an important link in terrestrial food chains. They convert enormous masses of plant material, leaf-litter, wood and decaying organic matter into compact fecal pellets. However, this is only possible by means of microorganisms. Prof. Storch’s team has long pursued the functional morphology of the integument, receptor cells, and digestive system in various invertebrate taxa, e.g. Priapulida, Polychaeta, and Onychophora.