Complex eco-evolutionary dynamics of aquatic ecosystems
faced with human-induced and environmental stress
Main funder
Funder's project number: 317495
Funds granted by main funder (€)
- 534 560,00
Funding program
Project timetable
Project start date: 01/09/2018
Project end date: 31/08/2023
Summary
Resilience and recovery ability are key determinants of species persistence and viability in a changing world.
Populations exposed to rapid environmental changes and human-induced alterations are often affected by
both ecological and evolutionary processes and their interactions, that is, eco-evolutionary dynamics. The
integrated perspective offered by eco-evolutionary dynamics is vital for understanding drivers of resilience
and recovery of natural populations undergoing rapid changes and exposed to multiple stressors. However,
the feedback mechanisms, and the ways in which evolution and phenotypic changes scale up to interacting
species, communities, and ecosystems, remains poorly understood. The objective of my proposal is to bridge
and close this gap by merging the fields of ecology and evolution into two interfaces of complex biological
dynamics. I will do this in the context of conservation and sustainable harvesting of aquatic ecosystems. I
will develop a novel mechanistic theory of eco-evolutionary ecosystem dynamics, by coupling the theory of
allometric trophic networks with the theory of life-history evolution. I will analyse the eco-evolutionary
dynamics of aquatic ecosystems to identify mechanisms responsible for species and ecosystem resilience and
recovery ability. This will be done through systematic simulation studies and detailed analyses of three
aquatic ecosystems. The project delves into the mechanisms through which anthropogenic and environmental
drivers alter the eco-evolutionary dynamics of aquatic ecosystems. Mechanistic understanding of these
dynamics, and their consequences to species and ecosystems, has great potential to resolve fundamental yet
puzzling patterns observed in natural populations and to identify species and ecosystem properties regulating
resilience and recovery ability. This will drastically change our ability to assess the risks related to current
and future anthropogenic and environmental influences on aquatic ecosystems.
Populations exposed to rapid environmental changes and human-induced alterations are often affected by
both ecological and evolutionary processes and their interactions, that is, eco-evolutionary dynamics. The
integrated perspective offered by eco-evolutionary dynamics is vital for understanding drivers of resilience
and recovery of natural populations undergoing rapid changes and exposed to multiple stressors. However,
the feedback mechanisms, and the ways in which evolution and phenotypic changes scale up to interacting
species, communities, and ecosystems, remains poorly understood. The objective of my proposal is to bridge
and close this gap by merging the fields of ecology and evolution into two interfaces of complex biological
dynamics. I will do this in the context of conservation and sustainable harvesting of aquatic ecosystems. I
will develop a novel mechanistic theory of eco-evolutionary ecosystem dynamics, by coupling the theory of
allometric trophic networks with the theory of life-history evolution. I will analyse the eco-evolutionary
dynamics of aquatic ecosystems to identify mechanisms responsible for species and ecosystem resilience and
recovery ability. This will be done through systematic simulation studies and detailed analyses of three
aquatic ecosystems. The project delves into the mechanisms through which anthropogenic and environmental
drivers alter the eco-evolutionary dynamics of aquatic ecosystems. Mechanistic understanding of these
dynamics, and their consequences to species and ecosystems, has great potential to resolve fundamental yet
puzzling patterns observed in natural populations and to identify species and ecosystem properties regulating
resilience and recovery ability. This will drastically change our ability to assess the risks related to current
and future anthropogenic and environmental influences on aquatic ecosystems.
Principal Investigator
Primary responsible unit
Follow-up groups
Related publications and other outputs
1 of 3
- Effects of top predator re-establishment and fishing on a simulated food web : Allometric Trophic Network model for Lake Oulujärvi (2024) Kokkonen, Eevi; et al.; A1; OA
- Mutually exclusive feeding yields Holling type III functional response (2024) Lehtinen, Sami O.; et al.; A1; OA
- Atlantic cod individual spatial behaviour and stable isotope associations in a no‐take marine reserve (2023) Monk, Christopher T.; et al.; A1; OA
- Can regime shifts in reproduction be explained by changing climate and food availability? (2023) Tirronen, Maria; et al.; A1; OA
- Correlation between body size and longevity : New analysis and data covering six taxonomic classes of vertebrates (2023) Kuparinen, Anna; et al.; A1; OA
- Effects of temporal abiotic drivers on the dynamics of an allometric trophic network model (2023) Eloranta, Antti P.; et al.; A1; OA
- Generalist invasion in a complex lake food web (2023) Kuparinen, Anna; et al.; A1; OA
- Limited effects of size-selective harvesting and harvesting-induced life-history changes on the temporal variability of biomass dynamics in complex food webs (2023) Nonaka, Etsuko; et al.; A1; OA
- Non-trophic interactions amplify kelp harvest-induced biomass oscillations and biomass changes in a kelp forest ecological network model (2023) Perälä, Tommi; et al.; A1; OA
- Are there plenty of fish in the sea? How life history traits affect the eco-evolutionary consequences of population oscillations (2022) Ahti, Pauliina A.; et al.; A1; OA
