Descripción del proyecto
Cambio climático e interacciones entre especies
La actual crisis de la biodiversidad que afecta a las interacciones y distribuciones de especies es resultado del cambio climático. Estas interacciones entre especies son conocidas como la «red de la vida» y garantizan la transferencia de energía y nutrientes a lo largo de toda la cadena trófica, lo que sirve de base para los servicios ecosistémicos. El proyecto ClimateWeb, financiado con fondos europeos, tiene por objeto calcular el impacto del cambio climático en la red de la vida y en los servicios ecosistémicos prestados por las interacciones entre especies a fin de contribuir al establecimiento de prioridades de conservación. Gracias a la aplicación de métodos innovadores, calculará los efectos del cambio climático sobre diferentes tipos de interacciones, la función que la biogeografía y el contexto ecológico local desempeñan en la predicción del futuro de las especies, y la conexión entre el cambio climático y la diversidad filogenética de las comunidades.
Objetivo
Climate change is one of the main drivers of the current biodiversity crisis and results in shifts in species distributions. As an outcome, interactions among species are also affected. Most predictions on species’ vulnerability to climate change, however, have overlooked species interactions (the ‘web of life’), despite the interdependence of species within ecosystems, and the fact that these interactions are the cornerstones of ecosystem services. In this action, I will use a novel and integrative approach to assess the effect of climate change on the web of life (ClimateWeb). Specifically, I will assess: (Q1) Will the effects of climate change be different across interaction types (mutualisms versus antagonisms) and environments (tropical versus temperate)? (Q2) Given climate projections, does current ecological context (i.e. properties of interaction networks) or geographic properties (latitude, and longitude) best predict the fate of a species and its interactions? (Q3) How will the functional and phylogenetic diversity of communities collapse in the face of climate change? This action will use several synergistic approaches to explicitly incorporate species distributions and ecological interactions. In doing so, ClimateWeb will provide a more complete picture of the effect of climate change on the web of life and the ecosystem services those interactions provide. In addition to increasing my international mobility and career development, expected ClimateWeb results include three scientific publications, outreach activities to amplify societal awareness of climate change, and management-focused products that can be used for setting conservation priorities. This high-impact research will provide a comprehensive theoretical and empirical framework, promoting holistic thinking around the ecological problems that climate change poses, and helping to ensure the long-term functioning of the web of life, as well as the ecological services it provides.
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MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinador
8006 Zurich
Suiza