Project Details
Projekt
Interplay between trait variation, food web dynamics and maintenance of biodiversity
Applicant
Professorin Dr. Ursula Gaedke
Subject Area
Ecology and Biodiversity of Animals and Ecosystems, Organismic Interactions
Term
from 2014 to 2024
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 257405112
Trait variation within individuals, populations and communities allows them to adjust to altering environmental conditions, giving rise to biomass-trait feedbacks including eco-evolutionary dynamics. Using mathematical models, we will contribute to a unifying theory that explicitly considers how such feedbacks affect the structure and dynamics of predator-prey systems and more complex food webs. We postulate that (1) the standing trait variation (functional diversity) influences biomass and trait dynamics and (2) this, in turn, influences the maintenance of trait variation in concert with the trade-off(s) among traits. We will use four complementary model approaches: multispecies or multiclonal sorting models, full trait distribution models, aggregate models approximating full models by explicitly describing the dynamics of the mean and variance of the underlying trait distribution, and hybrid models considering intra- and interspecific trait variation simultaneously by combining a multispecies model with an aggregate approach. This enables us to investigate the intertwined ecological and evolutionary processes, and to test the robustness of our results against model assumptions. Our main objectives are:1. To synthesize current theory of biomass-trait feedbacks in bi-trophic food web models. We focus on (1) how different food web structures evolve by evolutionary diversification of prey and predators, and (2) how differences in structure, functional traits, trade-offs and sources of trait variation affect community dynamics, e.g. to explain unusual predator-prey dynamics. This includes considering a multi-dimensional trait space.2. To extend our models to tri-trophic systems including food chains and intra-guild predation, to bridge between more abstract but also more tractable predator-prey models, and more realistic complex food web models, and to contribute to mechanistic interpretations of experimental tri-trophic systems. 3. To develop adaptive food web modules reflecting properties and dynamics arising from the natural complexity of plankton food webs, we will combine our recent insights from our more abstract models with comprehensive data from Lake Constance. This will also help to improve the realism of biogeochemical models tailored to specific ecosystems.4. To confront the developed theory with data and improve the realism of the mathematical models, we will closely cooperate with four experimental partners within this priority program by applying our models to their data. This will help optimizing the experimental designs, interpreting the experimental results, and facilitating the comparison among findings derived from different experimental set-ups.5. To execute general tasks such as promoting synergies within DynaTrait, e.g. by leading synthesis papers, and teaching summer schools. The anticipated results will stimulate a reconsideration of concepts in fundamental ecology that form the basis for nature conservation.
DFG Programme
Priority Programmes
