My research in this field is based on catches from emergence traps. I am interested in analyses of community structure and the determinants of ecological diversity in dipteran communities.
I use a system of 16 trophic groups (of larvae) to analyse community structure and a broad range of mathematical tools to test predictions on the ecological diversity of Diptera, that can be derived from theories in the literature

For example, data from the Göttingen beech forest suggest that differences in temporal activity patterns and morphological features of adults can account for the coexistence of dance fly species (Empididae & Hybotidae) in this habitat (Hövemeyer 1987).

I conducted further emergence trap studies in an oak-hornbeam forest, an alder-willow forest, on a meadow and in the hedgerows surrounding it. Most dipteran families were identified to species and community structure described (Hövemeyer 1996a,b, 1997).