Objective This project addresses a key issue in fundamental research - one that has challenged ecologists ever since Darwin s time that is why some species are common, and others rare, and why, despite marked turnover at the level of individual species abundances, the structure of a community is generally conserved through time. Its aim is to examine the temporal dynamics of species abundance distributions (SADs), and to assess the capacity of these distributions to withstand change (resistance) and to recover from change (resilience). These are topical and important questions given the increasing impact that humans are having on the natural world. There are three components to the research. First, we will model SADs and predict responses to a range of events including climate change and the arrival of invasive species. A range of modeling approaches (including neutral, niche and statistical) will be adopted; by incorporating temporal turnover in hitherto static models we will advance the field. Second, we will test predictions concerning the resistance and resilience of SADs by a comparative analysis of existing data sets (that encompass communities in terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments for ecosystems extending from the poles to the tropics) and through a new field experiment that quantifies temporal turnover across a community (unicellular organisms to vertebrates) in relation to factors both natural (dispersal limitation) and anthropogenic (human disturbance) thought to shape SADs. In the final part of the project we will apply these new insights into the temporal dynamics of SADs to two important conservation challenges. These are 1) the conservation of biodiversity in a heavily utilized European landscape (Fife, Scotland) and 2) the conservation of biodiversity in Mamirauá and Amaña reserves in Amazonian flooded forest. Taken together this research will not only shed new light on the structure of ecological communities but will also aid conservation. Fields of science natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystemsnatural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyinvasive speciesnatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes Programme(s) FP7-IDEAS-ERC - Specific programme: "Ideas" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Topic(s) ERC-AG-LS8 - ERC Advanced Grant - Evolutionary, population and environmental biology Call for proposal ERC-2009-AdG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-AG - ERC Advanced Grant Host institution THE UNIVERSITY COURT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS EU contribution € 1 812 782,00 Address NORTH STREET 66 COLLEGE GATE KY16 9AJ St Andrews United Kingdom See on map Region Scotland Eastern Scotland Clackmannanshire and Fife Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Trish Starrs (Ms.) Principal investigator Anne Elizabeth Magurran (Prof.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data Beneficiaries (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all THE UNIVERSITY COURT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS United Kingdom EU contribution € 1 812 782,00 Address NORTH STREET 66 COLLEGE GATE KY16 9AJ St Andrews See on map Region Scotland Eastern Scotland Clackmannanshire and Fife Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Trish Starrs (Ms.) Principal investigator Anne Elizabeth Magurran (Prof.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data
