Jena Experiment: SP 5: Consumer community structure and stability

Plant diversity effects on complex consumer communities Changes in plant diversity can influence the diversity and abundance of consumer species at all trophic levels (Siemann 1998, Haddad et al. 2001, Borer et al. 2012). Traditionally, consumer responses to changes in plant diversity have been assessed in the field by measuring the presence/absence or abundance of particular taxa across a diversity gradient, while ignoring the presence, and strength, of potential feeding interactions between taxa. However, feeding interactions between species can influence the stability of consumer communities (McCann 2000). Therefore, examining patterns of feeding interactions, which can be graphically depicted as links and nodes in a food web network, is an important component to understand mechanisms driving the relationship between diversity and stability of consumer communities. Our proposed research will take a multifaceted approach to examine the relationship between plant diversity and food web structure allowing us to make mechanistic predictions of how changes on plant diversity will influence the ability of ecosystems to support complex consumer communities.

Weitere Informationen: http://www.nature.uni-freiburg.de/forschung/Abgeschlossene%20Projekte/Jena%20-%20Experiment?set_language=de
Ansprechpartner: Prof. Dr. Alexandra-Maria Klein
Tel: +49 (0)761 203-67770
Email: alexandra.kleinatnature.uni-freiburg.de

Projektbeginn: 01.06.2016
Projektende: 01.05.2017

Prof. Dr. Alexandra-Maria Klein (Univ. Freiburg)

Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
Professur für Naturschutz und Landschaftsökologie
Prof. Dr. Alexandra-Maria Klein
Tennenbacher Straße 4
79106 Freiburg

Telefon: +49 (0) 761 203-67770
Fax: +49 (0) 761 203-3638
Email: alexandra.klein@nature.uni-freiburg.de
https://www.nature.uni-freiburg.de/

Jes Hines, Leipzig, Germany; Anne Ebeling, Jena; Stefan Scheu, Göttingen, Germany; Wolfgang W. Weisser, Freising, Germany

• DGF Projekt, DFG