TipESM Researcher in the Spotlight: Stefanie Heinicke

Meet Stefanie Heinicke

Stefanie is a researcher who is passionate about animals and biodiversity. She is leading TipESM’s work package focusing on tipping points in ecological and social systems. In this Researcher in the Spotlight, Stefanie shares with us her motivations and underlying reasons throughout her professional journey and also what has drawn her to TipESM.

Please introduce yourself, Stefanie.

I am a researcher and I work on better understanding the impacts of climate change on biodiversity.

Could you share some details about your professional and academic career before becoming part of the TipESM Community?

I always had a passion for animals, and the need to protect biodiversity was much discussed when I was still in school. I decided to study Biodiversity, and then International Nature Conservation at universities in Germany and New Zealand. For my PhD, I used modeling to identify the factors driving chimpanzee decline in West Africa and highlighted areas of conservation concern to guide evidence-based conservation planning for this species. I became increasingly concerned with the impacts of climate change, and started to work at PIK, where I focused on evaluating climate impact model simulations. I am now combining these two research areas by using climate impact simulations to inform biodiversity conservation.

What motivated you or inspired you to become involved in TipESM?

I am deeply concerned about the accelerating impacts of climate change. During my previous research, I saw how environmental shifts can drive species decline, particularly in vulnerable ecosystems. Being part of TipESM, is a great opportunity to contribute to our understanding of how climate change can lead to abrupt shifts in ecosystems.

What do you do within TipESM?

I lead one of the work packages where we investigate tipping points in different ecosystems and social systems. We want to especially understand which processes can cause abrupt shifts in ecological and social systems. Specifically, I investigate under which conditions climate change can lead to tipping in great ape populations.

What have you enjoyed about TipESM so far?

I especially appreciate that within TipESM we cover a wide range of different systems and thus I can learn much from consortium partners on different methodological approaches. For example, in our work package we have researchers with expertise ranging from Amazon forest, to marine ecosystems, to human displacement.

Looking ahead, what aspects or developments within TipESM are you most excited about?

I’m excited that TipESM provides an opportunity for increased collaboration between climate modelers and climate impact modelers. I think this will deepen our understanding of each other’s approaches, leading to a more robust understanding of the occurrence and impact of tipping points.

From your perspective, how do you foresee TipESM contributing to scientific progress in your field?

There is not that much applied or quantative research yet on tipping points in ecological and social systems. In our work package we investigate nine different systems, using different modelling approaches. I am convinced that we can make an important contribution by furthering our understanding of processes in each of the settings we investigate, but also by comparing our different approaches and findings.

In what ways do you believe TipESM will have an impact on society, either directly or indirectly?

New research findings within TipESM will inform key global assessment efforts like those from the IPCC and IPBES, and will thus enhance our ability to anticipate and adapt to potential negative impacts from crossing tipping points. This knowledge is vital for developing strategies to protect ecosystems, economies, and communities from abrupt and potentially catastrophic changes.