Descrizione del progetto
Come il cambiamento ambientale globale altera la biodiversità
Dai bombi alle giraffe e dagli insetti agli squali, ogni specie del globo è influenzata dal cambiamento climatico. Ad esempio, l’aumento delle temperature fa sì che i fiori primaverili fioriscano prima e lascino meno tempo alle api per l’impollinazione. Questo è solo un esempio di come il cambiamento dei modelli stagionali possa influenzare negativamente la demografia delle specie interagenti. Il progetto SEASON, finanziato dall’UE, studierà come il cambiamento ambientale globale altera la biodiversità. Collegherà i processi demografici e le interazioni biotiche sottoposti a cambiamenti nella stagionalità dei fattori ambientali nel tempo e nello spazio. Sarà sviluppato uno strumento analitico per valutare in che modo i feedback di interazione demografia-biotica mediano le risposte della popolazione multispecie al cambiamento di stagionalità. Le risposte alla stagionalità di più specie saranno valutate contemporaneamente.
Obiettivo
Most species show seasonal variation in survival and reproduction, which determines and is affected by biotic (intra- and interspecific) interactions. Such demography-biotic-interaction feedbacks, in turn, mediate community responses to seasonal patterns in environmental factors. Changing these seasonal patterns and thereby adversely affecting the demography of interacting species, is one important way in which global environmental change alters biodiversity. However, as population and community responses to changes in seasonality are typically studied separately, we lack a mechanistic understanding of the processes that threaten the persistence of interacting species, posing a major challenge to biodiversity conservation. SEASON aims to bridge this fundamental knowledge gap by linking demographic processes and biotic interactions under changes in the seasonality of environmental factors across time and space. Integrating theoretical and empirical analyses, the two main objectives of this project are to (i) develop an analytical framework which assesses how demography-biotic-interaction feedbacks mediate multi-species population responses to seasonality change; and (ii) apply the framework on empirical systems to synthesize novel information on the importance of the feedbacks. By developing an integrative framework to assess simultaneous responses of several species to seasonality, a key but understudied aspect of environmental change, this research will substantially contribute to global-change ecology. It will also assist researchers and managers in developing new strategies beyond single target populations or annual demographic censuses to mitigate global threats. As SEASON aims to develop a flexible tool that can be expanded in the future and relies on collaboration between two research institutes and several conservation initiatives, the MSCA fellowship will be critical in building a long-lasting research line and a global network of collaborators.
Campo scientifico
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EFCoordinatore
28006 Madrid
Spagna