Open access
Autor(in)
Datum
2019-12Typ
- Doctoral Thesis
ETH Bibliographie
yes
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Abstract
Interactions between species can structure populations and communities, affect the flow of energy and matter within and across ecosystem boundaries, and shape the biotic and abiotic environment. Thereby, species interactions can also feed back on the participating species themselves, and on other members of the community. Complex interaction networks can arise that may influence the stability of ecosystems and potentially make them resilient against external perturbation. However, species interactions are not static: through endlessly recurring interplay with their environment, species, and thus, their interactions with other species, are subject to evolutionary change. It is therefore widely acknowledged that species interactions are not only the foundation for the functioning of all ecosystems, but also contribute to the emergence and maintenance of biological diversity on earth. In the face of rapid global environmental change it is critical to learn more about the nature of species interactions, for example, in the context of their strength (effect sizes), temporal stability (variation, within and between generations) or dimensionality (number of, interactions per species). For this dissertation I have conducted a series of experiments to explore the role of species interactions within different levels of ecological organization and across a range of ecological contexts. Specifically, I investigated i) how species interactions can shape phenotypic distributions of populations, ii) how species interactions shape developmental trajectories of phenotypes, and iii) how species interactions affect resistance and resilience of ecosystems in response to external disturbance. In four chapters I addressed these questions with a series of outdoor and laboratory experiments, which provided compelling evidence for strong effects of species interactions on phenotypes, populations, communities and ecosystems. Mehr anzeigen
Persistenter Link
https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000382508Publikationsstatus
publishedExterne Links
Printexemplar via ETH-Bibliothek suchen
Verlag
ETH ZurichThema
Ecology and evolution; Ecosystem processes; Evolution; EcologyOrganisationseinheit
03705 - Jokela, Jukka / Jokela, Jukka
ETH Bibliographie
yes
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