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Because animal carcasses often serve as reservoirs for pathogens, their location and removal are crucial in controlling the spread of diseases. During carcass decomposition, heat is emitted due to microbial activity and the development of maggots. Recent studies have shown that infrared sensors can be used to locate animal carcasses, but little is known about the factors influencing detection success. In this study, we investigated the potential of infrared technology to locate wild boar carcasses, as they play an important role in the spread of African swine fever. Specifically, we tested the effects of environmental and carcass conditions on the detection probability. A drone-based thermal camera was used to collect data during 379 flyovers of 42 wild boar carcasses in different stages of decomposition between September 2020 and July 2021. Generalized mixed-effect models and conditional inference trees were used to identify the environmental and carcass conditions that influenced the detection probability. Our results showed that the thermal camera accurately measured carcass temperature (R2 = 0.75, RMSE = 5.89°C). The probability of finding carcasses was higher in open habitats with air temperatures >3.0°C and thus conducive to maggot development (detection rate ≤80%). A forest canopy openness >29.3% and cloudy conditions or flights at dawn increased the detection rate. Moreover, carcasses infested with large amounts of maggots could be detected even in habitats with a more extensive canopy cover, whereas in dense forests, the detection probability was limited (6.4°C (≤62%). Our study demonstrates the utility of thermal imaging in searching for wild boar carcasses under specific environmental and carcass conditions and thus its use in supporting ground searches.

Research on decomposer communities has traditionally focused on plant litter or deadwood. Even though carrion forms highly nutrient-rich necromass that enhance ecosystem heterogeneity, the factors influencing saprophytic communities remain largely unknown. For deadwood, experiments have shown that different drivers determine beetles (i.e., decay stage, microclimate, and space), fungi (i.e., decay stage and tree species) and bacteria (decay stage only) assemblages. To test the hypothesis that similar factors also structure carrion communities, we sampled 29 carcasses exposed for 30 days that included Cervus elaphus (N = 6), Capreolus capreolus (N = 18), and Vulpes vulpes (N = 5) in a mountain forest throughout decomposition. Beetles were collected with pitfall traps, while microbial communities were characterized using amplicon sequencing. Assemblages were determined with a focus from rare to dominant species using Hill numbers. With increasing focus on dominant species, the relative importance of carcass identity on beetles and space on bacteria increased, while only succession and microclimate remained relevant for fungi. For beetle and bacteria with focus on dominant species, host identity was more important than microclimate, which is in marked contrast to deadwood. We conclude that factors influencing carrion saprophytic assemblages show some consistency, but also differences from those of deadwood assemblages, suggesting that short-lived carrion and long-lasting deadwood both provide a resource pulse with different adaptions in insects and microbes. As with deadwood, a high diversity of carcass species under multiple decay stages and different microclimates support a diverse decomposer community.

Increasing pressure on land resources necessitates landscape management strategies that simultaneously deliver multiple benefits to numerous stakeholder groups with competing interests. Accordingly, we developed an approach that combines ecological data on all types of ecosystem services with information describing the ecosystem service priorities of multiple stakeholder groups. We identified landscape scenarios that maximize the overall ecosystem service supply relative to demand (multifunctionality) for the whole stakeholder community, while maintaining equitable distribution of ecosystem benefits across groups. For rural Germany, we show that the current landscape composition is close to optimal, and that most scenarios that maximize one or a few services increase inequities. This indicates that most major land-use changes proposed for Europe (for example, large-scale tree planting or agricultural intensification) could lead to social conflicts and reduced multifunctionality. However, moderate gains in multifunctionality (4%) and equity (1%) can be achieved by expanding and diversifying forests and de-intensifying grasslands. More broadly, our approach provides a tool for quantifying the social impact of land-use changes and could be applied widely to identify sustainable land-use transformations., Nature Sustainability, 6 (4), ISSN:2398-9629

Aim Global warming is assumed to restructure mountain insect communities in space and time. Theory and observations along climate gradients predict that insect abundance and richness, especially of small‐bodied species, will increase with increasing temperature. However, the specific responses of single species to rising temperatures, such as spatial range shifts, also alter communities, calling for intensive monitoring of real‐world communities over time. Location German Alps and pre‐alpine forests in south‐east Germany. Methods We empirically examined the temporal and spatial change in wild bee communities and its drivers along two largely well‐protected elevational gradients (alpine grassland vs. pre‐alpine forest), each sampled twice within the last decade. Results We detected clear abundance‐based upward shifts in bee communities, particularly in cold‐adapted bumble bee species, demonstrating the speed with which mobile organisms can respond to climatic changes. Mean annual temperature was identified as the main driver of species richness in both regions. Accordingly, and in large overlap with expectations under climate warming, we detected an increase in bee richness and abundance, and an increase in small‐bodied species in low‐ and mid‐elevations along the grassland gradient. Community responses in the pre‐alpine forest gradient were only partly consistent with community responses in alpine grasslands. Main Conclusion In well‐protected temperate mountain regions, small‐bodied bees may initially profit from warming temperatures, by getting more abundant and diverse. Less severe warming, and differences in habitat openness along the forested gradient, however, might moderate species responses. Our study further highlights the utility of standardized abundance data for revealing rapid changes in bee communities over only one decade.

1. Climate, topography and the 3D structure of forests are major drivers affecting local species communities. However, little is known about how the specific functional traits of saproxylic (wood-living) beetles, involved in the recycling of wood, might be affected by those environmental characteristics. 2. Here, we combine ecological and morphological traits available for saproxylic beetles and airborne laser scanning (ALS) data in Bayesian trait-based joint species distribution models to study how traits drive the distributions of more than 230 species in temperate forests of Europe. 3. We found that elevation (as a proxy for temperature and precipitation) and the proportion of conifers played important roles in species occurrences while variables related to habitat heterogeneity and forest complexity were less relevant. Furthermore, we showed that local communities were shaped by environmental variation primarily through their ecological traits whereas morphological traits were involved only marginally. As predicted, ecological traits influenced species' responses to forest structure, and to other environmental variation, with canopy niche, wood decay niche and host preference as the most important ecological traits. Conversely, no links between morphological traits and environmental characteristics were observed. Both models, however, revealed strong phylogenetic signal in species' response to environmental characteristics. 4. These findings imply that alterations of climate and tree species composition have the potential to alter saproxylic beetle communities in temperate forests. Additionally, ecological traits help explain species' responses to environmental characteristics and thus should prove useful in predicting their responses to future change. It remains challenging, however, to link simple morphological traits to species' complex ecological niches., Functional Ecology, 37 (1), ISSN:0269-8463, ISSN:1365-2435

Synthesis of C4.4A-ADC (A), Active metabolites resulting from intracellular degradation of C4.4A-ADC (B), Activity of the C4.4A-ADC metabolites (C), Range of drug-to-antibody ratio (D), and Purity and aggregate content of the ADC (E).

Anti-tumor efficacy of C4.4A-ADC in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma FaDu cancer xenograft mouse model.

Internalization and cytotoxicity of C4.4A-Ab.

Changes in the relative sizes of NCI-H322 tumors (A), SCC-4 tumors (B), SCaBER tumors (C), FaDu tumors (D), Lu7064 tumors (E) Lu7126 tumors (F), Lu7343 tumors (G), Lu7433 tumors (H), Lu7466 tumors (I), and Lu7700 tumors (J).

C4.4A-Ab BAY 1112623 binds domain 1 of C4.4A.

Anti-tumor efficacy of C4.4A-Ab and C4.4A-ADC in NCI-H292 human NSCLC xenograft mouse model.

Mean relative body weights of NCI-H292 human NSCLC tumor-bearing mice treated with vehicle, C4.4A-ADC, cisplatin, or combination of cisplatin and C4.4A-ADC.

Concentration of C4.4A-ADC metabolite BAY 1136309 in NCI-H292 tumors in mice after administration of C4.4A-ADC.

Within the last years, Q CELLS has developed a silicon solar cell structure yielding an energy conversion efficiency exceeding 24%. The cell structure features a so-called passivating contact consisting of an interfacial oxide and an n-type polysilicon layer on the rear side, double-sided screen-printed metal contacts, a module-optimized anti-reflective coating, a homogeneous front-side emitter, and an n-type silicon substrate. For the fabrication of this type of solar cell, a lean processing sequence has been applied by using exclusively mass-production processes in Q CELLS’ pilot R&D line in Thalheim, Germany. For module integration, state-of-the-art technology, such as half-cells, multi-wire interconnection, standard encapsulants, and zero-gap technology, can be applied. Hence, this solar cell structure has the potential to fully close the small remaining gap to the highest efficiency cell technologies, such as heterojunction and rear-contact solar cells at very competitive manufacturing cost. In analogy to Q CELLS' PERC-like Q.ANTUM technology, and in contrast to conventional passivated emitter and rear cells (PERC), this novel solar cell is shown to reliably suppress light-induced degradation.

Sparked by reports of insect declines of unexpected extent, there has been a surge in the compilation and analysis of insect time series data. While this effort has led to valuable databases, disagreement remains as to whether, where and why insects are declining. The ‘why’ question is particularly important because successful insect conservation will need to address the most important drivers of decline. Despite repeated calls for more long-term data, new time series will have to run for decades to quantitatively surpass those currently available. Here we argue that experimentation in addition to quantitative analysis of existing data is needed to identify the most important drivers of insect decline. While most potential drivers of insect population change are likely to have already been identified, their relative importance is largely unknown. Researchers should thus unite and use statistical insight to set up suitable experiments to be able to rank drivers by their importance. Such a coordinated effort is needed to produce the knowledge necessary for conservation action and will also result in increased monitoring and new time series.

We present a method to simulate movement in interaction with computers, using Model Predictive Control (MPC). The method starts from understanding interaction from an Optimal Feedback Control (OFC) perspective. We assume that users aim to minimize an internalized cost function, subject to the constraints imposed by the human body and the interactive system. In contrast to previous linear approaches used in HCI, MPC can compute optimal controls for nonlinear systems. This allows us to use state-of-the-art biomechanical models and handle nonlinearities that occur in almost any interactive system. Instead of torque actuation, our model employs second-order muscles acting directly at the joints. We compare three different cost functions and evaluate the simulated trajectories against user movements in a Fitts' Law type pointing study with four different interaction techniques. Our results show that the combination of distance, control, and joint acceleration cost matches individual users' movements best, and predicts movements with an accuracy that is within the between-user variance. To aid HCI researchers and designers, we introduce CFAT, a novel method to identify maximum voluntary torques in joint-actuated models based on experimental data, and give practical advice on how to simulate human movement for different users, interaction techniques, and tasks., Comment: 34 pages, 17 figures, two appendices. Submitted to TOCHI

1. Climate and land-use change are key drivers of environmental degradation in the Anthropocene, but too little is known about their interactive effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Long-term data on biodiversity trends are currently lacking. Furthermore, previous ecological studies have rarely considered climate and land use in a joint design, did not achieve variable independence or lost statistical power by not covering the full range of environmental gradients. 2. Here, we introduce a multi-scale space-for-time study design to disentangle effects of climate and land use on biodiversity and ecosystem services. The site selection approach coupled extensive GIS-based exploration (i.e. using a Geographic information system) and correlation heatmaps with a crossed and nested design covering regional, landscape and local scales. Its implementation in Bavaria (Germany) resulted in a set of study plots that maximise the potential range and independence of environmental variables at different spatial scales. 3. Stratifying the state of Bavaria into five climate zones (reference period 1981–2010) and three prevailing land-use types, that is, near-natural, agriculture and urban, resulted in 60 study regions (5.8 × 5.8 km quadrants) covering a mean annual temperature gradient of 5.6–9.8°C and a spatial extent of ~310 × 310 km. Within these regions, we nested 180 study plots located in contrasting local land-use types, that is, forests, grasslands, arable land or settlement (local climate gradient 4.5–10°C). This approach achieved low correlations between climate and land use (proportional cover) at the regional and landscape scale with |r ≤ 0.33| and |r ≤ 0.29| respectively. Furthermore, using correlation heatmaps for local plot selection reduced potentially confounding relationships between landscape composition and configuration for plots located in forests, arable land and settlements. 4. The suggested design expands upon previous research in covering a significant range of environmental gradients and including a diversity of dominant land-use types at different scales within different climatic contexts. It allows independent assessment of the relative contribution of multi-scale climate and land use on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Understanding potential interdependencies among global change drivers is essential to develop effective restoration and mitigation strategies against biodiversity decline, especially in expectation of future climatic changes. Importantly, this study also provides a baseline for long-term ecological monitoring programs.

Quantifying tree defoliation by insects over large areas is a major challenge in forest management, but it is essential in ecosystem assessments of disturbance and resistance against herbivory. However, the trajectory from leaf-flush to insect defoliation to refoliation in broadleaf trees is highly variable. Its tracking requires high temporal- and spatial-resolution data, particularly in fragmented forests. In a unique replicated field experiment manipulating gypsy moth Lymantria dispar densities in mixed-oak forests, we examined the utility of publicly accessible satellite-borne radar (Sentinel-1) to track the fine-scale temporal trajectory of defoliation. The ratio of backscatter intensity between two polarizations from radar data of the growing season constituted a canopy development index (CDI) and a normalized CDI (NCDI), which were validated by optical (Sentinel-2) and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) data as well by intensive caterpillar sampling from canopy fogging. The CDI and NCDI strongly correlated with optical and TLS data (Spearman's ρ = 0.79 and 0.84, respectively). The ΔNCDII\(_{Defoliation(A−C)}\) significantly explained caterpillar abundance (R\(^{2}\) = 0.52). The NCDI at critical timesteps and ΔNCDI related to defoliation and refoliation well discriminated between heavily and lightly defoliated forests. We demonstrate that the high spatial and temporal resolution and the cloud independence of Sentinel-1 radar potentially enable spatially unrestricted measurements of the highly dynamic canopy herbivory. This can help monitor insect pests, improve the prediction of outbreaks and facilitate the monitoring of forest disturbance, one of the high priority Essential Biodiversity Variables, in the near future.

PurposePeople’s tendency to overestimate their ability to control random events, known as illusion of control, can affect financial decisions under uncertainty. This study developed an artifactual field experiment on illusion of control for a farm machinery investment.Design/methodology/approachIn an experiment with two treatments, the individual farmer was either given or not given a sense of control over a random outcome. After each decision, the authors elicited perceived control, and a questionnaire collected additional indirect measures of illusion of control from 78 German farmers and 10 farm advisors.FindingsThe results did not support preregistered hypotheses of the presence of illusion of control. This null result was robust over multiple outcomes and model specifications. The findings demonstrate that cognitive biases may be small and difficult to replicate.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample is not representative for the German farming population. The authors discuss why the estimated treatment effect may represent a lower bound of the true effect.Originality/valueIllusion of control is well-studied in laboratory settings, but little is known about the extent to which farmers’ behavior is influenced by illusion of control.

Habitat destruction and deterioration of habitat quality caused a severe decline of biodiversity, such as insect diversity. In this study, we analyze insect diversity and biomass across agro-environments. We collected flying insects with 20 malaise traps across a landscape mosaic consisting of organic (eight traps) and conventional (four traps) farmland, as well as across agricultural land that has been recently converted from conventional to organic farming (eight traps). Sampling was conducted over 2 years, in 2019 and 2020, with in total 340 sampling events. We measured the dry weight of the captured organisms and identified species diversity by analyzing Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) and Barcode Index Numbers (BINs) via metabarcoding. The results obtained show temporal dynamics. The number of OTUs were always higher than the number of BINs. OTUs and BINs were moderately to highly correlated, while the number of OTUs and BINs were only moderately positively correlated with dry biomass. OTUs and BINs as well as biomass were highest in the recently transformed farmland if compared with pure organic and conventional farmland sites, which showed no significant differences in respect of insect diversity. OTU and BIN numbers but not the OTU/BIN ratio significantly decreased with increasing distance from the nearest forest fringe. The numbers of OTUs, BINs and the OTU/BIN proportion, as well as OTU and BIN/biomass proportions varied strongly over seasons, irrespective of agricultural practice. Based on our findings, we suggest to combine data on insect species richness and biomass measured over a period of time, to derive a largely complete and meaningful assessment of biodiversity for a specific region.

Saproxylic beetles play a vital role in conservation as indicators of the status of unmanaged forests. In light of the concern regarding the adverse impact of anthropogenic pressure on biodiversity, an essential step in forest conserva-tion strategy is the identification of saproxylic beetles. The Hyrcanian forests are a unique remnant of natural broadleaf temperate forests, with an evolutionary history that can be traced to the Tertiary and a high diversity tree species. Here we present the first checklist of saproxylic beetles in the Hyrcanian forests, including 398 species of saproxylic beetles, belonging to 207 genera and 46 families, identified by us. Based on our results and literature data, at least 670 saproxylic beetles occur in the Hyrcanian forests. The bias in our results towards some families supports the view that the detection of additional species can be expected, particularly from the forests with a greater diversity of tree species.

The legacy of the ‘SL > SS principle’, that a single or a few large habitat patches (SL) conserve more species than several small patches (SS), is evident in decisions to protect large patches while down-weighting small ones. However, empirical support for this principle is lacking, and most studies find either no difference or the opposite pattern (SS > SL). To resolve this dilemma, we propose a research agenda by asking, ‘are there consistent, empirically demonstrated conditions leading to SL > SS?’ We first review and summarize ‘single large or several small’ (SLOSS) theory and predictions. We found that most predictions of SL > SS assume that between-patch variation in extinction rate dominates the outcome of the extinction–colonization dynamic. This is predicted to occur when populations in separate patches are largely independent of each other due to low between-patch movements, and when species differ in minimum patch size requirements, leading to strong nestedness in species composition along the patch size gradient. However, even when between-patch variation in extinction rate dominates the outcome of the extinction–colonization dynamic, theory can predict SS > SL. This occurs if extinctions are caused by antagonistic species interactions or disturbances, leading to spreading-of-risk of landscape-scale extinction across SS. SS > SL is also predicted when variation in colonization dominates the outcome of the extinction–colonization dynamic, due to higher immigration rates for SS than SL, and larger species pools in proximity to SS than SL. Theory that considers change in species composition among patches also predicts SS > SL because of higher beta diversity across SS than SL. This results mainly from greater environmental heterogeneity in SS due to greater variation in micro-habitats within and across SS habitat patches (‘across-habitat heterogeneity’), and/or more heterogeneous successional trajectories across SS than SL. Based on our review of the relevant theory, we develop the ‘SLOSS cube hypothesis’, where the combination of three variables – between-patch movement, the role of spreading-of-risk in landscape-scale population persistence, and across-habitat heterogeneity – predict the SLOSS outcome. We use the SLOSS cube hypothesis and existing SLOSS empirical evidence, to predict SL > SS only when all of the following are true: low between-patch movement, low importance of spreading-of-risk for landscape-scale population persistence, and low across-habitat heterogeneity. Testing this prediction will be challenging, as it will require many studies of species groups and regions where these conditions hold. Each such study would compare gamma diversity across multiple landscapes varying in number and sizes of patches. If the prediction is not generally supported across such tests, then the mechanisms leading to SL > SS are extremely rare in nature and the SL > SS principle should be abandoned.

This chapter examines the design process for the Gender Equality Audit and Monitoring (GEAM) survey. Developed by research teams from the United Kingdom (Advance HE) and Spain (Notus and Universitat Oberta de Catalunya), the GEAM provides a comprehensive, transferable and transnational survey for higher education and research organisations that wish to undertake an audit of gender equality among academic, technical and support staff. The GEAM was developed from the UK Athena Survey of Science, Engineering and Technology (ASSET) and adapted for use with staff across all higher education and research contexts. The modular survey includes units on working conditions, beliefs and biases, organisational culture and climate and individual behaviours as well as the capture of data about the identity characteristics of respondents. The innovative design process of the GEAM required research teams to reconsider the applicability of gender equality measurement tools across multiple languages and national contexts. This chapter therefore provides an introduction for other researchers engaged in the design of equality, diversity and inclusion surveys; translation of surveys into multiple languages and used across multiple national contexts; and use of a standardised framework to gather evidence of gender inequality across a range of thematic areas.

More frequent and severe disturbances increasingly open the forest canopy and initiate tree regeneration. Simultaneously, increasing weather extremes, such as drought and heat, are threatening species adapted to cool and moist climate. The magnitude of the microclimatic buffering capacity of forest canopies to mitigate hot and dry weather conditions and its disturbance-induced reduction remains poorly quantified. Also, the influence of disturbance legacies (e.g., deadwood) on forest microclimate is unresolved. In a unique manipulation experiment we investigated (i) the microclimatic buffering capacity of forest canopies in years with different climatic conditions; (ii) the impacts of spatial disturbance patterns on surface light and microclimate; and (iii) the effect of deadwood presence and type on microclimate. Treatments included two disturbance patterns (i.e., aggregated and distributed), four deadwood types (i.e., standing, downed, standing and downed, removed), and one untreated control (i.e., nine treatments in total), replicated at five sites dominated by European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) in southeastern Germany. We measured forest floor light conditions and derived diurnal extremes and variation in temperature (T) and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) during four consecutive summer seasons (2016 – 2019). The buffering capacity of intact forest canopies was higher in warm and dry years. Surface light was significantly higher in spatially aggregated disturbance gaps compared to distributed disturbances of similar severity. An increase in surface light by 10 % relative to closed canopies elevated Tmax and VPDmax by 0.42°C and 0.04 kPa, respectively. Deadwood presence and type did not affect the forest microclimate significantly. Microclimatic buffering under forest canopies can dampen the effects of climate change. However, increasing canopy disturbances result in more light penetrating the canopy, reducing the microclimatic buffering capacity of forests. We conclude that forest management should foster microclimatic buffering in forests as one element of a multi-pronged strategy to counter climate change.

We present a system, predicting the point in time when users of a public display are about to leave. The ability to react to users' intention to leave is valuable for researchers and practitioners alike: users can be presented additional content with the goal to maximize interaction times; they can be offered a discount coupon for redemption in a nearby store hence enabling new business models; or feedback can be collected from users right after they have finished interaction without interrupting their task. Our research consists of multiple steps: (1) We identified features that hint at users' intention to leave from observations and video logs. (2) We implemented a system capable of detecting such features from Microsoft Kinect's skeleton data and subsequently make a prediction. (3) We trained and deployed a prediction system with a Quiz game which reacts when users are about to leave (N=249), achieving an accuracy of 78%. The majority of users indeed reacted to the presented intervention.

This article proposes a new composite measure of gender diversity for research teams that goes beyond simply ‘counting heads’. This measure adopts a more elaborated understanding of gender diversity than merely relying on the proportion of women and men, by taking into account the outcomes of gendered processes along seven grounds of diversity (age, care responsibilities, marital status, education, tenure, seniority, contractual position). Rather than focus on the individuals or the organisations, this measure is computed at the level of teams. This is because teams constitute a unit of analysis highly relevant to the context of higher education research but are often neglected. Illustrations of the results for STEM research teams are provided to show the potential uses of the Gender Diversity Index as a diagnostic tool (e.g. in certification schemes such as Athena SWAN in the UK and elsewhere), or to measure and report on the progress of gender change within higher education institutions.

Although macroecology is a well-established field, much remains to be learned about the large-scale variation of fungal traits. We conducted a global analysis of mean fruit body size of 59 geographical regions worldwide, comprising 5340 fungal species exploring the response of fruit body size to latitude, resource availability and temperature. The results showed a hump-shaped relationship between mean fruit body size and distance to the equator. Areas with large fruit bodies were characterised by a high seasonality and an intermediate mean temperature. The responses of mutualistic species and saprotrophs were similar. These findings support the resource availability hypothesis, predicting large fruit bodies due to a seasonal resource surplus, and the thermoregulation hypothesis, according to which small fruit bodies offer a strategy to avoid heat and cold stress and therefore occur at temperature extremes. Fruit body size may thus be an adaptive trait driving the large-scale distribution of fungal species.

Mit der Verordnung (EU) 2016/1011 wurde die Ermittlung von Referenzwerten für Finanzprodukte mit unmittelbarer Wirkung für alle Mitgliedsstaaten der EU gesetzlich normiert. Obwohl die genannte Verordnung bereits seit dem 01.01.2018 Gültigkeit besitzt, sind Finanzdienstleister derzeit aufgrund bestehender Übergangsvorschriften noch nicht in vollem Umfang an die neuen Regelungen gebunden. Gleichwohl sollten sich Banken in den relevanten Geschäftsfeldern auf kurze Sicht den gesetzlichen Gegebenheiten anpassen.

Boreal and mountainous forests are a primary focus of conservation efforts and are naturally prone to large-scale disturbances, such as outbreaks of bark beetles. Affected stands are characterised by biological legacies which persist through the disturbance and subsequent succession. The lack of long-term monitoring data on post-disturbance forest structure precludes understanding of the complex pathways by which natural disturbances affect forest structure and subsequently species presence. We analysed the response of capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) and hazel grouse (Tetrastes bonasia) to bark beetle infestations. We combined high-resolution airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) with a 23-year time series of aerial photography to quantify present-day forest structure and stand disturbance history. Species presence was assessed by collecting droppings of hazel grouse and capercaillie in a citizen science project. Structural equation models showed that the probability of hazel grouse presence increased with increasing disturbance, and the probability of both hazel grouse and capercaillie presence increased with succession. Indirect effects of bark beetle infestations, such as a reduced abundance of deciduous trees and an enhanced herb layer cover, were positively associated with capercaillie presence. Decreasing canopy cover increased the probability of hazel grouse presence. The high temporal and spatial heterogeneity of bark beetle infestations created forest structures that meet the contrasting habitat requirements of both, capercaillie and hazel grouse. This heterogeneity resulted from biological legacies such as decomposing snags, and the simultaneous regrowth of natural regeneration. A benign-neglect strategy towards bark beetle infestations could hence foster capercaillie and hazel grouse in mountainous forests.