Prof. Dr. Alexander Blanke

Winter Semester

BIO-02 „Morphologie & Evolution der Tiere“ (Teile der Vorlesung)

WBIO-C12 “Bildgebende Methoden in der Biologie”, B.Sc. Biology

OEP-M4 „Biological Colloquium“

Sommer Semester

BIO-07 „Ökologie mit Bestimmungsübungen“, B.Sc. Biology

OEP-B17 “Evolution, Diversity, and Biology of Arthropods”

OEP-M4 „Biological Colloquium“

scientific

since 2020           Full professor (W2 tenure track) for evolutionary morphology at the University of Bonn

2018 – 2020       ERC Starting Grant group leader at the Institute for Zoology, University of Cologne; Project: “The mechanical evolution from biting-chewing to piercing-sucking in insects.” funded by the European Research Council (ERC).

2017 - 2018        DFG Return Fellowship at the University of Cologne;       Continuation of the project: "Biomechanics of biting in dragonflies, mayflies and silverfish – gaining insights into the structural basis of insect head evolution."

2015 – 2017       Postdoc in the workgroup of Prof. Fagan, Hull, UK; DFG fellow in the project: "Biomechanics of biting in dragonflies, mayflies and silverfish – gaining insights into the structural basis of insect head evolution."

2014 - 2015        Postdoc in the workgroup Prof. Machida, Ueda, Japan; Fellow of the JSPS within the project: "Mouthpart evolution in basal insects - a comparative embryological approach"

2013 - 2014        Postdoc in the workgroup Prof. Misof, ZFMK, Bonn, Germany; Topics: Head morphology of primary wingless insects / methodological approaches to reveal phenotypic convergence in biological systems.

2008 - 2013 PhD student at the ZFMK, Bonn, Germany; Thesis: The Palaeoptera problem and the evolution of head structures of Dicondylia (Insecta)

2007 - 2008 Scientific assistant at the ZFMK; Topic: Revision of the genus Perithemis Hagen (Odonata: Anisoptera)

2006 - 2007 Diploma at the ZFMK; University of Bonn, Thesis: The dragonfly assemblage of Santa Teresa – patterns of behaviour and habitat use in a tropical environment

2006 - 2008        Study of economics at the Rheinische-Friedrich-Wilhelms University Bonn, Germany

2001 - 2007 Study of biology at the Rheinische-Friedrich-Wilhelms University Bonn, Germany

industry

2006 - 2014        Sales assistant (2006-2008; Focus on East Asia and the Americas), Technical assistant (2009-2012; Quality management acc. DIN/ISO9001, CAD implementation and management), and purchasing manager (per procura, 2012-2014) in a medium-sized company focused on manufacturing of hydraulic connectors.

• Gesellschaft für Biologische Systematik (GfBS)
• Deutsche Zoologische Gesellschaft (DZG)
• Gesellschaft deutscher Odonatologen (GdO)

• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Biomechanik (DGfB)

Book chapters

Blanke, A., Sander, S., Rühr, P. T.: Ecomorphology of the insect head with a focus on the mouthparts of adults. In: Betz, O. (2025) Insect Ecomorphology. Elsevier.

Blanke, A.: Phylogenie, Biomechanik und Disparität - Auf dem Weg zu einem quantitativen Verständnis makroevolutiver Trends in der Konstruktionsmorphologie von Insekten. In: Werneburg I., Betz O. (2020). Phylogenie, Funktionsmorphologie und Bionik. Schriften zum 60. Phylogenetischen Symposium in Tübingen. Scidinge Hall Publishing. Tübingen, 332 pages. ISBN: 978-3-947020-10-2.

Blanke, A.: The early evolution of biting-chewing performance in Hexapoda. In: Insect mouthparts – Form, function, development and performance. In: Krenn H.W. (Ed.). 2019. Insect Mouthparts: Form, Function, Development and Performance. Springer International Publishing. 683 pages. ISBN 978-3-030-29654-4.

Peer Reviewed Publications

1.      Saltin B.D., Goldsmith, C., Haustein M., Büschges A., Szczecinski, N. S., Blanke A. ACCEPTED. A parametric finite element model of leg campaniform sensilla in Drosophila to study CS location and arrangement. Journal of the Royal Society Interface.

2.      Hamann, L., Werner, J., Haase, F., Thiel, M., Scherwaß, A., Laforsch, C., Löder, M. G. J., Blanke, A., Arndt, H. 2024. Retention of microplastics by biofilms and their ingestion by protists in rivers. Environmental Microbiology Reports

3.       Edel C., Rühr P.T., Frenzel M., Kamp T. van de, Faragó T., Hammel J.U., Wilde F., Blanke A. 2024. Bite force transmission and mandible shape in grasshoppers, crickets, and allies is not driven by dietary niches. Evolution, qpae121, https://doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpae121

4.       Haustein, M., Blanke, A., Bockemühl, T., Büschges, A. 2024. A leg model based on anatomical landmarks to study 3D joint kinematics of walking in Drosophila melanogaster. Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol. 12:1357598. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2024.1357598

5.       Rühr, P. T., Edel, C., Frenzel, M., Blanke, A. 2024. A bite force database of 655 insect species. Scientific Data [6.4] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02731-w

6.       Ginot S., Sommerfeld, S., Blanke A. 2024. Linking shape conspicuous asymmetry with shape covariation patterns and performance in the insect head and mandibles. Evolution 78: 1078-1091. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpae040

7.       Ginot S., Blanke A. 2024. A comparison of dissection and 3D approaches to estimate muscle physiological cross-sectional area, validated by in vivo bite forces. Journal of Experimental Biology 227: jeb.246341 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.246341

8.       Hamann L., Schreiber K., Hagenmeyer J., Eduardo S., Spanke T., Blanke A. 2023. Diversity of filter feeding and variations in cross-flow filtration of five ram-feeding fish species. Frontiers in Marine Science. 10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1253083

9.       Dinges, G., Bockemühl, T., Iacovello, F., Shearing, P., Büschges, A., Blanke, A. 2022. Ultra high-resolution biomechanics suggest that microstructures within insect mechanosensors decisively affect their sensitivity. Journal of the Royal Society Interface [IF 3.6] DOI: https://doi.org/

10.   Rühr, P. T., Blanke, A. 2022. forceX and forceR: a mobile setup and R package to measure and analyse a wide range of animal closing forces. Methods in Ecology and Evolution [7.8] DOI: https://doi.org/

11.   Moritz, L., Borisova, E., Hammel, J. U., *Blanke, A., *Wesener, T. 2022. A previously unknown feeding mode in millipedes and the convergence of fluid feeding across arthropods. Science Advances 8 (7): eabm0577 [13.1] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abm0577

12.   Hamann, L., Blanke, A. 2022. Suspension Feeders - Diversity, Principles of Particle Separation, and Biomimetic Potential. Journal of the Royal Society Interface 19 (186): 20210741 [IF 3.6] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2021.0741

13.   Chen, L., Gu, J.-J., Yang, Q., Ren, D., *Blanke, A., *Béthoux, O. 2021. Ovipositor and mouthparts in a new fossil insect support a novel ecological role for early orthopterans in Pennsylvanian forests. eLife 10: e71006 [IF 8.1] DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.71006

14.   Rühr, P. T., van de Kamp, T., Faragó, T., Hammel, J., Wilde, F., Borisova, E., Edel, C., Frenzel, M., Baumbach, T., Blanke, A. 2021. Juvenile ecology drives adult morphology in two insect lineages. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 288 (1953): 20210616 [IF 4.6] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.0616

15.   Liessem, S., Kowatschew, D., Dippel, S., Blanke, A., Korsching, S., Guschlbauer, C., L. Hooper, S., Predel, R., Büschges, A. 2021. Neuromodulation can be simple: myoinhibitory peptide, contained in dedicated regulatory pathways, is the only neurally-mediated peptide modulator of stick insect leg muscle. Journal of Neuroscience 41 (13): 2911-2929 [IF 5.6] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0188-20.2021

16.   Moritz, L., Blanke, A., Hammel, J., Wesener, T. 2021. First steps towards suctorial feeding in millipedes: Comparative morphology of the head of the Platydesmida (Diplopoda: Colobognatha). Invertebrate Biology 00:e12312. [IF 1.7] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ivb.12312

17.   Dinges, G. F., Chockley, A. S., Bockemühl, T., Ito, K., Blanke, A., Büschges, A. 2021. Location and arrangement of campaniform sensilla in Drosophila melanogaster. Journal of Comparative Neurology 529: 905–925. [IF 2.8] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.24987

18.   Peeters, A., Keller, R. A., Khalife, A., Fischer, G., Blanke, A., Economo, E. P. 2020. The evolutionary loss of flight enabled the remarkable strength of ant workers. Frontiers in Zoology 17: 33. [IF 2.6] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-020-00375-9

19.   Szucsich, N. U., Bartel, D., Blanke, A., Böhm, A., Donath, A., Fukui, M., Grove, S., Liu, S., Macek, O., Machida, R., Misof, B., Nakagaki, Y., Podsiadlowski, L., Sekiya, K., Tomizuka, S., von Reumont, B., Waterhouse, R., Walzl, M., Meng, G., Zhou, X., Pass, G., Meusemann K. 2020. Four myriapod relatives – but who are sisters? No end to debates on relationships among the four major myriapod subgroups. BMC Evolutionary Biology 20: 144. [IF 3.0] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-020-01699-0

20.   Yoshizawa, K., Kamimura, Y., Lienhard, C., Ferreira, R. L., Blanke, A. 2018. A biological switching valve evolved in the female of a sex-role reversed cave insect to receive multiple sperm packages. eLife 7:e39563. [IF 8.1] DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.39563.

21.   Blanke, A. 2018. Analysis of modularity and integration suggests evolution of dragonfly wing venation mainly in response to functional demands. Journal of The Royal Society Interface. [IF 3.6] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2018.0277

22.   Blanke, A., Pinheiro, M., Watson, P. J., Fagan, M. J. 2018. A biomechanical analysis of prognathous and orthognathous insect head capsules: evidence for a many‐to‐one mapping of form to function. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 31: 665-674 [IF 2.5] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.13251.

23.   Simon, S., Blanke, A., Meusemann, K. 2018. Reviewing and reanalyzing the Palaeoptera problem – the origin of insect flight remains obscure. Arthropod Structure and Development 47(4): 328-338. [IF 2.1] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asd.2018.05.002

24.   Drukewitz, S. H., Fuhrmann, N., Undheim, E. A. B., Blanke, A., Giribaldi, J., Mary, R., Laconde, G., Dutertre, S., von Reumont, B. M. 2018. A dipteran’s novel sucker punch: Evolution of arthropod atypical venom with a neurotoxic component in robber flies (Asilidae, Diptera). Toxins 10(1): 29 [IF 3.3]. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins10010029

25.   Schmelzle, S., Heethoff, M., Heuveline, V., Lösel, P., Becker, J., Beckmann, F., Schluenzen, F., Hammel, J.U., Kopmann, A., Mexner, W., Vogelgesang, M., Jerome, N.T., Betz, O., Beutel, R., Wipfler, B., Blanke, A., Harzsch, S., Hörnig, M., Baumbach, T., Kamp, T. van de, 2017. The NOVA project: maximizing beam time efficiency through synergistic analyses of SRµCT data. Presented at the Developments in X-Ray Tomography XI, International Society for Optics and Photonics, p. 103910P. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2275959

26.   Suring, W., Meusemann, K., Blanke, A., Marien, J., Schol, T., Agamennone, V., Faddeeva-Vakhrusheva, A., Berg, M. P., Brouwer, B., 1KITE Basal Hexapod consortium, van Straalen, N. M., Roelofs, D. 2017. Evolutionary ecology of beta-lactam gene clusters in animals. Molecular Ecology 26: 3217-3229. [IF 5.8] https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.14109

27.   Blanke, A., Schmitz, H., Dutel, H., Patera, A., Fagan, M. 2017. Form function relationships in dragonfly mandibles under an evolutionary perspective. Journal of The Royal Society Interface 14: 20161038. [IF 3.5] http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2016.1038

28.   Blanke, A., Watson, P.J., Holbrey, R., Fagan, M.J. 2017. Computational biomechanics changes our view on insect head evolution. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 284: 20162412. [IF 4.3] https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.2412

29.   *David, S., Funken, J., Potthast, W., *Blanke, A. 2016. Muskuloskeletal modeling under an evolutionary perspective: Deciphering the role of single muscle regions in closely related insects. Journal of the Royal Society Interface 13: 20160675. [IF 3.6] http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2016.0675

30.   Sato, Y., Ruehr, P.T., Schmitz, H., Egas, M., Blanke, A. 2016. Age-dependent male mating tactics in a spider mite - a life history perspective. Ecology and Evolution 6: 7367–7374. [2.3] http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.2489

31.   Fujita, M., Blanke, A., Nomura, S., Machida, R. 2016. Simple, artifact-free SEM observations of insect embryos: Application of the nano-suit method to insect embryology. Proceedings of the Arthropod Embryological Society of Japan 50: 7-10.

32.   *David, S., Funken, J., Potthast, W., *Blanke, A. 2016. Musculoskeletal modelling of the dragonfly mandible system as an aid to understanding the role of single muscles in an evolutionary context. Journal of Experimental Biology 216: 1041-1049. [IF 3.2] https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.132399

33.   Blanke, A., Machida, R. 2016. The homology of cephalic muscles and endoskeletal elements between Diplura and Ectognatha (Insecta). Organisms Diversity & Evolution 16: 241-257. [IF 2.1] http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13127-015-0251-5

34.   Kjer, K. M., Ware, J.L., Rust, J., Wappler, T., Lanfear, R., Jermiin, L.S., Zhou, X., Aspöck, H., Aspöck, U., Beutel, R.G., Blanke, A., Donath, A., Flouri, T., Frandsen, P.B., Kapli, P., Kawahara, A.Y., Letsch, H., Mayer, C., McKenna, D.D., Meusemann, K., Niehuis, O., Peters, R.S., Wiegmann, B.M., Yeates, D.K., Reumont, B.M. v., Stamatakis, A., Misof, B. 2015. Response to comment on "Phylogenomics resolves the timing and pattern of insect evolution". Science 349: 487c. [IF 41.0] http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa7136

35.   Blanke, A., Rühr, P. T., Mokso, R., Stampanoni, M., Wilde, F., Machida, R., Misof, B. 2015. Structural Mouthpart Interaction Evolved Already in the Earliest Lineages of Insects. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 282: 20151033. [IF 4.3] http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.1033

36.   Blanke, A., Büsse, S., Machida, R. 2015. Coding characters from different life stages for phylogenetic reconstruction: a case study on dragonfly adults and larvae including a description of the larval head anatomy of Epiophlebia superstes (Odonata: Epiophlebiidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 174: 718-732. [IF 2.9] http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/zoj.12258

37.   Blanke, A., R. Machida, N. U. Szucsich, F. Wilde, and B. Misof. 2015. Mandibles with two joints evolved much earlier in the history of insects: dicondyly is a synapomorphy of bristletails, silverfish and winged insects. Systematic Entomology 40: 357-364. [IF 3.7] http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/syen.12107

38.   Misof B.; Liu S.; Meusemann K.; Peters R.S.; Donath A.; Mayer C.; Frandsen P.B.; Ware J.; Flouri T.; Beutel R.G.; Niehuis O.; Petersen M.; Izquierdo-Carrasco F.; Wappler T.; Rust J.; Blanke, A. et.al. 2014. Phylogenomics resolves the timing and pattern of insect evolution. Science 346: 763-767. [IF 41.0] http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1257570

39.   Blanke, A., Koch, M., Wipfler, B., Wilde, F., Misof, B. 2014. Head morphology of Tricholepidion gertschi indicates monophyletic Zygentoma. Frontiers in Zoology 11: 16. [IF 2.9] http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1742-9994-11-16

40.   Blanke, A., Wesener, T. 2014. Revival of forgotten characters and modern imaging techniques help to produce a robust phylogeny of the Diplopoda (Arthropoda, Myriapoda). Special issue of Arthropod Structure & Development (“Morphology and Evolution of Myriapoda) 43: 63-75. [IF 1.7] http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.asd.2013.10.003

41.   v. Reumont, B. M., Blanke, A., Richter, S., Alvarez, F., Bleidorn, C.Jenner, R. A. 2014. The first venomous crustacean revealed by transcriptomics and functional morphology: remipede venom glands express a unique toxin cocktail dominated by enzymes and a neurotoxin. Molecular Biology and Evolution 31: 48-58. [14.8] http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/molbev/mst199

42.   Blanke, A., Beckmann, F., Misof, B. 2013. The head anatomy of Epiophlebia superstes (Odonata: Epiophlebiidae). Organisms Diversity and Evolution 13: 55-66. [IF 2.1] http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13127-012-0097-z

43.   Blanke, A., Greve, C., Mokso, R., Beckmann, F., Misof, B. 2013. An updated phylogeny of Anisoptera including formal convergence analysis of morphological characters. Systematic Entomology 38: 474-490. [IF 3.7] http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/syen.12012

44.   Blanke, A., Greve, C., Wipfler, B., Beutel, R.G., Holland, B., Misof, B. 2013. The identification of concerted convergence in insect heads corroborates Palaeoptera. Systematic Biology 62: 231-249. [IF 10.3] http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/sys091

45.   Blanke, A., Wipfler, B., Letsch, H., Koch, M., Beckmann, F., Beutel, R., Misof, B. 2012. Revival of Palaeoptera – head characters support a monophyletic origin of Odonata and Ephemeroptera (Insecta). Cladistics 28: 560-581. [IF 7.8] http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-0031.2012.00405.x

46.   R. Mokso, L. Quaroni, F. Marone, S. Irvine, J. Vila-Comamala, A. Blanke, M. Stampanoni. 2012 X-ray mosaic nanotomography of large microorganisms. Journal of Structural Biology 177: 233-238. [IF 3.7] http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsb.2011.12.014

Non-peer review publications

Haustein, M., Blanke, A., Bockemühl, T., Buschges, A. 2024. A leg model based on anatomical landmarks to study 3D joint kinematics of walking in Drosophila melanogaster. bioRxiv, 2024.04. 04.588055

Saltin B.D., Haustein M., Büschges A., Blanke A. 2023. A parametric finite element model of leg campaniform sensilla in Drosophila to study CS location and arrangement. bioRxiv: 2023.07.24.550300.

Edel C., Rühr P.T., Frenzel M., Kamp T. van de, Faragó T., Hammel J.U., Wilde F., Blanke A. 2023. Bite force transmission and mandible shape in grasshoppers, crickets, and allies is largely dependent on phylogeny, not diet. bioRxiv: 2023.03.28.534586. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.03.28.534586

Blanke, A. 2016. Das Palaeoptera Problem und die Evolution des Kopfes innerhalb der Dicondylia. Zoologie 2016: 29-36.

Blanke, A., Machida, R. 2016. Mouthpart evolution of basal Hexapoda. SPring-8 research highlights 2016:21-22.

Niehuis, M., Blanke, A., Peters, R. S. 2014. Der Verwechselte Fanghaft (Mantispa aphavexelte U. Aspöck et H. Aspöck, 1994) in Rheinland-Pfalz nachgewiesen (Neuroptera: Mantispidae). Fauna Flora Rheinland-Pfalz 12 (4): 1393-1402.

Blanke, A. 2012. Dragonflies and mayflies are sister groups. DESY Photon Science Research Highlights 2012: 34-35.

Blanke, A., Thelen, M., 2011. SR-microCT-data helps to develop a phylogenetic character matrix for head structures of lower Pterygota. HASYLAB annual report 2011

Blanke, A., Bartel, D., Dambach, J., Thelen, M., Beckmann, F., Misof, B., 2010. Inner morphology of “basal” Hexapoda – new character interpretation made possible by SRµCT. HASYLAB annual report 2010 

Blanke, A., Meusemann, K., von Reumont, B.M., Meusemann, H., Beckmann, F., Misof, B., 2010. Contributions to the phylogeny of Anisoptera from SRµCT-data of internal head morphology. HASYLAB annual report 2010

Blanke, A., 2008. Four new dragonfly records for the state of Espiríto Santo, Brazil: Erythrodiplax clitella Borror, Orthemis ambinigra Calvert, Lestes forficula Rambur and Heteragrion petiense Machado (Odonata: Libellulidae, Lestidae, Megapodagrionidae). Notulae odonatologicae 7(2): 13-15

Roedder, D., J. Dambach, and A. Blanke. 2006. [Anuran diversity in Santa Teresa (Mata Atlantica) - a population survey.]. Elaphe 14:45-54.