ERC FUNDED PROJECTS

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.

1 812 782 €

Start date: 2010-08-01, End date: 2016-01-31

150 years from the Origin and we have yet to unravel how ecological speciation works, and how it leads to spectacular adaptive radiations. The process has two components: adaptation to ecological niches and production of new species. My aim is to make breakthroughs in understanding ecological speciation by the study of geographically parallel adaptive radiations in mycalesine butterflies that have yielded some 250 extant species in the Old World tropics. More empirical studies are needed because few radiations have been examined from many different perspectives (including in insects). It is not fully understood either how exactly radiation occurs or how exactly selection leads to speciation. This proposal provides a unique opportunity, outside a few vertebrate clades, to resolve this by fully integrating several lines of evidence and methodologies. My approach will be to study patterns of diversity and disparity in morphospace for several sets of key traits: 1) wing patterns, 2) larval host plant choice especially with respect to C3 and C4 photosynthesis, and 3) male secondary sexual traits and sex pheromones. We will collect phenotypic, genetic, developmental, and ecological data. Application of phylogenetic comparative methods to the relationships of all traits among all species will make inferences about the biological mechanisms that have driven diversification and speciation. The combination of surveys of morphospace, the use of comparative methods, and microevolutionary studies using laboratory models will provide a unique comprehensive view. Our analyses will distinguish among alternative patterns of adaptive radiations, test predictions from models, and move us forward in identifying the drivers of observed patterns.

2 474 128 €

Start date: 2010-10-01, End date: 2016-06-30

The approach to animal behaviour adopted by behavioural ecology is based on the investigation of the adaptive function of behaviour. A common assumption is that the action of natural selection on behaviour can be predicted without reference to processes inside the organism. I believe that it is time to combine an analysis based on evolution with one based on mechanisms, where a mechanism might be psychological, physiological or a combination of both. Animals have mechanisms that need to perform well in changing and dangerous environments. In order to understand the evolution of mechanisms, we need a fundamental change in the sort of models that are analysed. Instead of building complex models of optimal behaviour in simple environments, we need to evolve simple mechanisms that perform well in complex environments. This approach can provide a novel and unified perspective on a range of issues involving decisions by animals, including humans. The main objective of the project is to provide a comprehensive view of behaviour that can account for both adaptive and non-adaptive actions. This involves developing a novel theoretical framework based on an understanding of the underlying information-processing rules, combined with an evolutionary perspective that explains how any such rule came into existence in the first place. The theme of coping with uncertain and dangerous environments is used to investigate various features of behaviour such as rationality and self-control. These topics lead to the broader issues of the organisation of thought and emotions. The project also explores the consequences of the evolved behaviour and the implications for conservation and animal welfare.

1 749 277 €

Start date: 2010-06-01, End date: 2015-05-31

One of the key challenges in scientific research is to link together our understanding of different levels of biological organisation. This challenge is fundamental to the scientific endeavour: from understand how genes interact to drive the cell, to how cells interact to form organisms, up to how organisms interact to form groups and societies. My own and the research of others has addressed this question in the context of the collective behaviour of animals. Mathematical models of complex systems have been used to successfully predict experimental outcome. Most previous studies are however limited in one important aspect: individuals are treated as identical units. The aim of the proposed research proposed is to investigate features which produce differences within the units. The model systems of our study will be sticklebacks, homing pigeons and house sparrows. Individuals can differ from each other on a range of time scales, from information acquired within the last few minutes, through socially learnt information, to genetically inherited differences. Through a series of experiments on each of the study species, the development of mathematical models which incorporate between individual differences, and novel forms of data analysis, we will begin to understand the role played by individual differences within groups. We will look at the rules of motion for fish and birds; the role of personality in decision-making and how short term information differences improve decision-making accuracy. Achieving the project objectives will greatly enhance our understanding of the relationship between individual animals and the groups they live in, as well as impacting on our understanding of individual differences in other areas of biology.

977 768 €

Start date: 2010-02-01, End date: 2015-01-31