FOR 2716:  Spatial community ecology in highly dynamic landscapes: from island biogeography to metaecosystems [DynaCom]

• Subject Area: Biology ; Physics
• Term: since 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 379417748

The research unit “Spatial community ecology in highly dynamic landscapes: from island biogeography to metaecosystems” [DynaCom] is deeply rooted in ecological frameworks such as the equilibrium theory of island biogeography and metacommunity models. DynaCom takes an explicit trait-based food-web perspective on spatial dynamics to achieve three overarching objectives: (O1) to generate a multidimensional trait space for spatially structured food-webs (meta-foodwebs), (O2) to extend the trait-based characterization of spatial communities to dynamic landscapes that experience strong stochastic disturbances, and (O3) to generalize this information across insular systems from regional to global scales. In Phase 2, DynaCom will focus on the establishment and functioning of trait-based multitrophic metacommunities under environmental forcing (O2). All subprojects contribute specific information to generally test how disturbed or rapidly changing environmental conditions shift the trait composition in communities towards nested subsets (hypothesis H1). Across organisms, we will test how spatial and temporal variation in trait composition allows for higher stability of local composition and functioning (H2). Finally, we will assess how movement traits alter the predictability of the composition during community assembly and mediates between spatial and local stabilization of emergent properties and functions (H3). The German Wadden Sea remains the core field site, as it features strong rhythmic and stochastic dynamics in abiotic conditions and allows an integrative analysis of marine and terrestrial food web compartments. The coordination project will enable the interaction between the subprojects in DynaCom. Workpackages WP 1 and 2 comprises the collection of time series of relevant abiotic parameters as well as soil water properties and meteorological conditions, operate and provide the long-term database, and maintains the long-term island experiment comprising the 12 artificial islands and the salt marsh enclosed plots. WP 3 will organize joint annual workshops, invite guest scientists and promote networking. WP 4 provides explicit support for early career scientists in from of topical workshops and offers equal opportunity seminars, coaching and practical support for group members. WP 5 reflects the strong public interest in the project in an UNESCO world heritage site and provides outreach by, e.g., an annual newsletter, the webpage and a German brochure. WP 6 will be responsible for liaising with state agencies and the National Park administration to negotiate the fieldwork time table, to report the persons working on site, and to perform the monitoring of effects of the experiment on the natural environment, and prepare security training for all persons involved in field work.

• DFG Programme: Research Units

Projects

• A trait-based approach to plant metacommunities (Applicants Blasius, Bernd ;  Kleyer, Michael )
• A trait-based theory of island biogeography (Applicant Brose, Ulrich )
• Coordination Funds (Applicant Hillebrand, Helmut )
• Functional island biogeography of vascular plants (Applicant Kreft, Holger )
• Network approach to metacommunities with passive dispersal mediated by ocean flows and wind fields (Applicant Feudel, Ulrike )
• Plant biotic interactions under disturbance in the salt marsh (Applicant Albach, Dirk )
• SP5 Effects of environmental dynamics and disturbances on macrozoobenthos (Applicants Gerlach, Gabriele ;  Rohde, Sven )
• Spatial and temporal dynamics of microbial communities under environmental perturbation (Applicant Moorthi, Stefanie )
• Synthesis of trait-based community dynamics and stability (Applicant Hillebrand, Helmut )
• Towards a dynamic functional macroecology of island birds (Applicant Hof, Christian )
• Trait-based terrestrial consumer metacommunities in space and time (Applicants Scherber, Christoph ;  Scheu, Stefan )

• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Helmut Hillebrand