Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/C002105/1
Predicting and testing the effects of climate warming on the structure and functioning of aquatic food webs.
Fellowship Award
- Fellow:
- Dr J Montoya, Queen Mary University of London, Sch of Biological and Chemical Sciences
- Science Area:
- Marine
- Freshwater
- Overall Classification:
- Freshwater
- ENRIs:
- Global Change
- Biodiversity
- Science Topics:
- Ecosystem Scale Processes
- Population Ecology
- Community Ecology
- Climate & Climate Change
- Abstract:
- Climate is changing: predictions for the UK and much of Europe suggest a rise in temperature of 3-5?C in the next half century, the warmest period over the past 40.000 years. This rapid climate change is likely to have pronounced effects in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. These effects will appear at different scales within natural systems, from the individual level (e.g. changes in the energy required to growth or reproduce) to services provided by the entire ecosystem (e.g. decomposition of litter or primary production). There are two possible ways in which species may respond to increases in ambient temperature: organisms may migrate towards colder areas (i.e. becoming invasive species), or stay within their natural ranges and experience changes in their physiological processes. Currently we do not have a comprehensive view of the effects of warming at all these scales of organization, neither do we have clear predictions and empirical tests of what will happen in the near future, especially for freshwater systems. I will address these gaps by (1) developing mathematical models that give clear and testable predictions of the effects of warming, (2) testing these predictions with experimental ponds that mimic natural systems and that can be easily manipulated, and (3) reviewing and synthesizing the evidence collected by other researchers on the effects of climate warming in aquatic systems. In order to do so, I will use ideas, techniques and models from studies of food webs (i.e. who eats whom) and from studies establishing relationships between the energetic requirements of species (i.e. their metabolism) and other characteristics/traits of species, populations and ecosystems.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/C002105/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Postdoctoral Fellow
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Postdoctoral Fellowship
This fellowship award has a total value of £143,997
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - T&S | Total - Staff | Total - Other Costs |
|---|---|---|
| £11,799 | £103,697 | £28,500 |
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