A5038755717- Plant and animal studies
- Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics
- Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
- Fish Ecology and Management Studies
- Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology and Behavior
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Algal biology and biofuel production
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Marine and coastal ecosystems
- Isotope Analysis in Ecology
- Genetic diversity and population structure
- Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
- Physiological and biochemical adaptations
- Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
- Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation
- Freshwater macroinvertebrate diversity and ecology
- Ecosystem dynamics and resilience
- Land Use and Ecosystem Services
- Marine Biology and Ecology Research
- Environmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
- Evolution and Paleontology Studies
- Biological Control of Invasive Species
- Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies
Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology
2016-2025
ETH Zurich
2020
University of Michigan
2012-2017
Pennsylvania State University
2017
University of Victoria
2008-2012
University of Toronto
2005
Lakes are often described as sentinels of global change. Phenomena like lake eutrophication, algal blooms, or reorganization in community composition belong to the most studied ecosystem regime shifts. However, although shifts have been well documented several lakes, a assessment prevalence is still missing, and, more general, factors altering stability status, missing. Here, we provide first and productivity 1,015 lakes worldwide using trophic state index (TSI) time series derived from...
Abstract The coexistence of competing species depends on the balance between their fitness differences, which determine competitive inequalities, and niche stabilise interactions. Darwin proposed that evolution causes species' niches to diverge, but influence relative importance both differences in determining have not yet been studied together. We tested whether phylogenetic distances green freshwater algae determined abilities coexist a microcosm experiment. found were more important...
Summary Hundreds of experiments have now manipulated species richness ( SR ) various groups organisms and examined how this aspect biological diversity influences ecosystem functioning. Ecologists recently expanded field to look at whether phylogenetic (PD) among species, often quantified as the sum branch lengths on a molecular phylogeny leading all in community, also predicts ecological function. Some hypothesized that divergence should be superior predictor function than because...
Abstract The research of a generation ecologists was catalysed by the recognition that number and identity species in communities influences functioning ecosystems. relationship between biodiversity ecosystem ( BEF ) is most often examined controlling richness randomising community composition. In natural systems, changes are part bigger assembly dynamic. Therefore, focusing on ecosystems CAFE ), integrating both composition through gains, losses abundance, will better reveal how affect...
Abstract Rising temperatures are leading to increased prevalence of warm-affinity species in ecosystems, known as thermophilisation. However, factors influencing variation thermophilisation rates among taxa and particularly freshwater communities with high diversity population decline, remain unclear. We analysed compositional change over time 7123 6201 terrestrial, mostly temperate from multiple taxonomic groups. Overall, temperature was positively linked both realms. Extirpated had lower...
Interspecific competition between phytophagous insects can occur when plant responses induced by an early-season herbivore alter host quality for later colonizers. Recent evidence specificity in the elicitation of different attackers suggests that dynamics use field may be more complex than previously anticipated, because suitability colonizing herbivores depend on which species has initially damaged a plant. In each two years, we manipulated first to attack Solanum dulcamara plants...
Increasing temperatures caused by anthropogenic climate change are leading to changes in the composition of local communities across biomes. This has implications for ecological assessment methods that rely on macroinvertebrates as bioindicators water quality. To investigate influence changing temperature these methods, we analysed macroinvertebrate data from Swiss national monitoring programs. We used a species distribution model simulate effects and estimated resulting three biological...
Summary A long‐standing hypothesis in ecology and evolutionary biology is that closely related species are more ecologically similar to each other therefore compete strongly than distant relatives do. recent posits relatedness may also explain the prevalence of mutualisms, with facilitative interactions being common among distantly species. Despite importance these hypotheses for understanding structure function ecological communities, experimental tests determine how influences competition...
Competition for limiting resources is among the most fundamental ecological interactions and has long been considered a key driver of species coexistence biodiversity. Species' minimum resource requirements, their R*s, are traits that link individual physiological demands to outcome competition. However, major question remains unanswered-to what extent species' competitive able evolve in response limitation? To address this knowledge gap, we performed an evolution experiment which exposed...
There is a long tradition in ecology of trying to understand community assembly processes by making inferences from patterns structure (Diamond 1975; Connor & Simberloff 1979). Inferring process pattern appealing because the latter more easily observed and quantified, especially when manipulative controlled experiments are infeasible. In such cases, our hope (albeit naïve at times) that bear some signature generated them assuming particular overwhelmingly outcome single dominant process....
Global change encompasses many co-occurring anthropogenic drivers, which can act synergistically or antagonistically on ecological systems. Predicting how different global drivers simultaneously contribute to observed biodiversity is a key challenge for ecology and conservation. However, we lack the mechanistic understanding of multiple influence vital rates interacting species. We propose that reaction norms, relationships between driver like growth, mortality, consumption, provide insights...
Abstract In aquatic ecosystems facing climate change, higher temperatures often co‐occur with alterations in resource availability. The metabolic theory of ecology uses activation energy to assess the sensitivity biological processes temperature, but neglects how availability might modify temperature sensitivities. To understand impacts limitation on sensitivities, we performed experiments manipulating and three key resources (nitrogen, phosphorus, light) six species freshwater...
Climate change is altering local temperatures and resource availability of many ecosystems. We explore the impacts these changes on metabolism phytoplankton, organisms that are crucial as base aquatic food webs engines biogeochemical cycling. Specifically, we investigate metabolic responses six freshwater phytoplankton species---representing green algae, diatoms, cyanobacteria---to warming in combination with light, phosphorus, nitrogen, three most critical resources for phytoplankton. Using...
ABSTRACT Aim Global change can impact the stability of biological communities by affecting species richness and synchrony. While most studies focus on terrestrial ecosystems, our research includes both aquatic realms. Previous works measure overall community synchrony as co‐variation among co‐occurring species, ignoring tail dependence—when fluctuate together at extreme abundance levels. We used time‐series data to test two hypotheses across realms: a positive relationship between diversity...
Algae-derived biocrude oil is a possible renewable energy alternative to fossil fuel based crude oil. Outdoor cultivation in raceway ponds estimated provide better return on invested than closed photobioreactor systems. However, these open systems, algal crops are subjected environmental variation temperature and irradiance, as well biotic invasions which can cause costly crop instabilities. In this paper, we used an experimental approach investigate the ability of species richness maximize...
The competition-relatedness hypothesis (CRH) predicts that the strength of competition is strongest among closely related species and decreases as become less related. This based on assumption common ancestry causes close relatives to share biological traits lead greater ecological similarity. Although intuitively appealing, extent which phylogeny can predict co-occurrence has only recently been rigorously tested, with mixed results. When studies have failed support CRH, critics pointed out...