Species Interactions

Community Dynamics in Warmer Mountains

Many of the most dramatic biological impacts of climate change are mediated by species interactions. Still, we largely ignore how climate change influences the way species interact, and how this affects community dynamics. Due to their steep climatic and ecologic gradients, mountains are excellent systems to study how species interactions will influence community dynamics in future climates. As part of my doctoral research, in collaboration with Loic Pellisier, and Jake Alexander, we transplanted pieces of alpine meadow to lower elevations in the Swiss Alps to investigate how climate change alters the performance of different species and the nature of the interactions among them.