Ecological Network Conundrum

在自然生态系统中，世界各地的顶端捕食者正在减少，改变了物种之间的相互作用，因为它们经常被中层捕食者和人类过度开发所取代。在城市生态系统的另一端，专业物种正在减少，取而代之的是促进病原体和疾病传播的通才和害虫物种。因此，物种正面临一系列来自气候变化和土地利用变化的同时直接和间接威胁，这些变化使生态系统同质化。这种全球变化导致了由于物候变化和物种范围变化而导致的营养联系的解耦，从而导致了物种的非相似相互作用。因此，至少可以说，物种持久性的结构和它们提供的生态系统服务是不稳定的。为了应对这些快速变化，人们提出了几项保护战略，如建立保护区。不幸的是，关于连通性的正面和负面影响，以及如何实现这种连通性来优化物种的持久性，存在一个难题。*我提出的研究将对全球变化下的物种生态网络动态进行建模。我将确定哪些物种特征影响网络拓扑和功能的动态，哪些特征促进适应性网络属性。一个主要的目标是了解景观的时空动态如何影响生态网络拓扑，促进物种相互作用的潜在重新布线，以应对全球变化。因此，我和我的研究团队将测试物种特征、人口死亡率和物种相互作用的潜在协同效应。我们将开发假设和框架，以更好地理解影响生态网络时空动态的景观空间结构的权衡，并确定空间网络的共性，为保护管理策略提供参考。我们将对不同的假设进行敏感性分析，这些假设涉及节点和链路层面的网络拓扑的重要性，以及网络强度对物种空间分布对时空动态景观的响应。*这些研究项目将为未来生态网络和空间生态学研究的几个研究途径和分析发展奠定基础。为此，我们将结合关于物种特征、物种扩散能力和遗传变异的时空模式的生态数据的在线数据库。这些研究项目的发现将有助于确定空间和物种相互作用在哪些方面对维持元群落和生态系统的功能起到重要作用。生态网络建模和分析工具还可以扩展到其他生态系统和物种，用于土地利用决策，包括确定道路和输电走廊的位置、制定森林管理计划和建立保护区。

In natural ecosystems, apex predators are decreasing around the world, altering species interactions as they are often replaced by meso-predators and human overexploitation. At the other end of the spectrum in urban ecosystems, specialist species are declining and being replaced by generalists and pest species that promote the spread of pathogens and disease. Species are therefore facing a suite of simultaneous direct and indirect threats from climate change and land-use change that homogenize ecosystems. Such global change results in the uncoupling of trophic links due to phenological change and species range shifts resulting in species non-analog interactions. Hence, the fabric of species persistence and the ecosystem services that they provide is precarious to say the least. To respond to these rapid changes, several conservation strategies have been proposed such as the establishment of protected areas. Unfortunately, there is a conundrum about the positive and negative effects of connectivity and how to implement such connectivity to optimize species persistence.***My proposed research will model species ecological networks dynamics under global change. I will determine which species traits influence the dynamics of network topology and functions, and which traits promote adaptable network properties. A major goal is to understand how the spatio-temporal dynamics of landscapes may affect ecological network topology promoting the potential rewiring of species interactions in response to global change. Hence, my research team and I will test the potential synergetic effects of species traits, demographic vital rates, and species interactions. We will develop hypotheses and frameworks to better understand the trade-offs in landscape spatial structure that affect the spatio-temporal dynamics of ecological networks and identify spatial network generalities to inform conservation management strategies. We will perform a sensitivity analysis of alternative hypotheses about the importance of network topology at the node level and the link level as well as the network strength on species spatial distribution responses to spatio-temporal dynamic landscapes. ***These research projects will set the foundation for several future research avenues and analytical developments for ecological networks and spatial ecology studies. To do so, we will combine online databases on ecological data about species traits, species dispersal abilities, and spatio-temporal patterns of genetic variation. The findings of these research projects will help to determine in which ways space and species interactions matter to maintain metacommunities and ecosystems' functions. The ecological network modeling and analytic tools could also be extended to other ecosystems and species for the purpose of land use decision-making including the location of roads and transmission corridors, the development of forest management plans and the establishment of protected areas.