Unifying environmental responses across ecological scales

Environmental conditions vary considerably across space and time, and this variation is associated with widespread variation in ecological dynamics and structure at all organizational scales-from individuals to ecosystems. At a fundamental level, environmental variation affects individual performance by altering how traits map onto function. I will explore how this environmentally-driven variation in individual performance scales up to have cascading effects at all levels of ecological organization, ultimately influencing ecosystem functioning. I test this framework using two seemingly disparate systems-forests and microbial communities. Mechanistically linking environment to ecology across scales in this way helps illuminate the processes responsible for broad observable patterns and may provide a stronger basis for predicting whole ecosystem responses to future climate change.

Zoom link: https://duke.zoom.us/j/96990037603?pwd=UHhqSW1EREpOTzBOemp0RjhMcUorZz09
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