How species interactions influence biodiversity: towards a spatially continuous food web of life

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Species interactions are critically important to the functioning of ecological communities, but are generally considered to be unimportant to the geographic distribution of species and diversity. However, a robust test of this hypothesis is lacking due in part to fundamental differences and contrasting findings between the fields of community ecology and biogeography, along with major gaps in the spatial sampling of interaction networks. In this project, I will bring concepts and methods from both fields to quantify the spatial consequences of species interactions and the role of evolutionary history and traits in shaping network architecture. I will do this by: (1) building a food web for Canadian birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles, (2) linking this food web to geography by integrating species interactions with distribution models, resulting in new insights into how biotic and abiotic factors limit community composition and species ranges, and (3) establishing new methods and applications of conservation planning that consider both species and the food web of life. This pipeline from concept to conservation priority will facilitate our ability to anticipate and prevent biodiversity loss.