Theoretical and experimental integration of biogeography and ecosystem ecology

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The long-term objective of my research program is to integrate the disciplines of biogeography and biodiversity-ecosystem functioning into a coherent theoretical framework to better understand the global change impacts on ecosystems. There has been impressive progress in biogeography over the last fifteen years to predict the impact of global changes on range shifts, extinction risks and the future distribution of biodiversity. These studies however ignore the impacts of biotic interactions, and consequently how to scale from populations to ecosystems. This synthesis will contribute answering where, when and why changes in biodiversity will occur and what are the impacts of those changes on the provision of ecosystem services. I will build upon my previous work on trophic metacommunities and on the biodiversity-relationship to develop new models and conduct empirical investigations of their predictions. The central hypothesis of this research project is that the structure of ecological networks of interactions determines ecosystem functioning. I this predict that communities could stand considerable species turnover following global changes, but the functioning will be preserved if the structure of interactions is maintained. I will combine mathematical models and the pitcher plant microbial food web as a model experimental system to fulfill the following specific objectives: i) develop a model integrating elements of biogeography, community and ecosystem ecology to better predict the impacts of global changes on community structure and ecosystem functioning; ii) study the spatial structure of complex ecological networks in a heterogeneous environment, iii) to understand how this structure affects functioning and iv) how this spatial heterogeneity could provide an evolutionary insurance in changing environments. The stimulating combination of empirical and theoretical approaches defining this research program is a strong asset to improve our understanding of the global change impacts on key ecosystem services.