In conjunction with Malte Jochum, also a PhD student in the CRC 990, I will work on the sub-project “Structure, stability and functioning of macro-invertebrate communities in rainforest transformation systems in Sumatra (Indonesia)” in which we will compare macro-invertebrate communities of the upper-soil and litter layer across four transformation systems: tropical lowland secondary rainforest, jungle rubber, intensively managed rubber, and oil palm plantations. In particular, I am interested in understanding the role of ‘niche’ versus ‘neutral’ processes in determining patterns in beta diversity and structure of interaction networks in these communities. Furthermore, using complex food-web models that incorporate a large range of trophic levels, we will investigate population stability and food-web persistence under varying land-use regimes and the resulting outcomes for ecosystem processes such as decomposition rates.