Niche evolution and trophic diversity in birds and mammals

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The trophic niche lies at the heart of ecosystem function. It is often defined in terms of diet and networks of biotic interactions, but also spans multiple further dimensions including microhabitat, climate and behaviour. Previous research has tended to simplify or overlook the dimensionality of trophic niches largely because relevant data are lacking at macroecological scales. This has changed with the recent completion of global datasets, including diet and foraging strategy for birds and mammals. This project will take several parallel approaches to explore these datasets from an evolutionary and macroecological perspective. The research will focus on birds and mammals because they are ecologically important and relatively well known in terms of geographic distribution, phylogeny, and trophic niches. The student will have access to existing future range projections under climate change, as well as the PREDICTS database of land-use change impacts on global biodiversity. Focusing on diet, microhabitat and foraging behaviour as key dimensions of the trophic niche, the main research goals are as follows: 1) Applying evolutionary models and phylogenetic comparative analyses to assess how trophic niches have evolved and diverged across birds and mammals. 2) Integrating trophic niche datasets with land-use change and climate change scenarios to understand patterns and predictors of trophic structure and functioning at global scales. 3) Developing biodiversity indicators and ecological forecasting models with improved accuracy and applications to environmental policy.