We present an analysis of stage-structured model, long term lake data and experimental mesocosms to explain the causes and consequences of invasion successof an aquatic invertebrate predator, Bythotrephes longspinus, in its native range. B. longspinus has a strong effect on zooplankton, but it's invasion success appears to be dependent on differences in the size distribution of resident fish populations.

Functional diversity is increasingly used to infer the effects of biotic and abiotic processes on species coexistence. To disentangle these effects we propose an operational framework in which the trait dissimilarity within communities is compared to the corresponding trait dissimilarity in the species pool (i.e. functional trait pool diversity). Both simulated and field data were analyzed to illustrate the framework.

A survey of butterfly communities in open areas, secondary forests, primary forests, and riverine habitats used timed-transect-walks, to quantify differences in species richness and community composition to better understand the environmental variables shaping butterfly communities in different habitats. The study also provided information on habitat preferences of conservationally important endemic butterfly species.

Next generation sequencing has transformed our ability to sample microbial community structure. Mesocosms taken from a lowland raised bog were sampled, and the diversity of archaea determined using 16S 454 amplicon diversity screening. Community analysis of bulk soil and endorhizophere community structure reveals striking differences, the significance of which will be discussed.

We bring robust quantitative data on bird communities along a complete (200-3700m asl.) rainforest altitudinal gradient, which is unique for its undisturbed forest. Data were collected during three independent surveys within two years. Birds displayed high diversity at low elevations, and monotonous, approximately linear, decrease in alpha diversity with increasing elevation. The highest species turnover was recorded in mid-elevations.

Habitat-wide spatial utilisation was investigated in coexisting gobies through a mesocosm experiment that mimicked the intertidal environment with inter-connected tidepools.  Gobies showed variable patterns of space use and growth, which also depended on paired species.  Null models derived from the experimental data were effective in assessing the intra- and inter-specific interactions in these species. 

Environmental change has the potential to interact with stochastic determinants of community composition, such as assembly order. We investigate the interaction between temperature change and assembly order in model and experimental systems, and find that whilst assembly order does affect community composition, this effect is species-specific and ephemeral, and long-term community composition is driven almost exclusively by temperature.

Individual body size has been shown to play a major role in determining food web structure. In this study, I examine the importance of individual traits, including behaviour and body size, in mutualistic networks. I compare the structure of bee-flower networks where nodes represent either trait sets or species identity.

Mosquito-borne disease risk is often dependent upon the presence of communities of suitable vectors. Using a novel Bayesian statistical model we identify key inter-species interactions which drive assembly of a community of West Nile virus vector mosquitoes in a UK wetland. Such knowledge is crucial to understand the effects of environmental change on the risk of mosquito-borne disease.

This study aimed at understanding whether climate affects reproduction of rainforests. We analyzed fruit availability at Nouragues National Reserve (French Guiana) in 2001-2011. Cross-correlations among ENSO indices and the fruit biomass and diversity showed that three El Niño events were followed by an increase of the overall fruit biomass at the community level.

Co-existence and microhabitat partitioning was explored in larvae of the endangered pine hoverfly Blera fallax and three more common species, which occupy rot holes in Scots Pine in Scotland, UK. Each species inhabited a distinct depth in the rot hole and exhibited correspondingly different behaviours. Findings suggest that competitive exclusion will not hamper conservation management efforts for B. fallax.

Establishing how coral reefs may respond to environmental change is extremely important. We describe statistical models for the short-term dynamics of reef composition, fitted to large data sets from the Caribbean and Great Barrier Reef. We then study the long-term dynamics of these models under a range of environmental scenarios.

Disturbance plays a key role in shaping species composition and may also alter the phylogenetic structure of communities.  We used a community phylogeny coupled with long-term forest dynamics data to examine seedling phylogenetic community structure following a major hurricane, as well as differences between areas with differing land use histories. 

Both mowing and dominant (Molinia caerulea) removal have positive and fertilization negative effect on species richness; the changes are scale dependent, species richness decreases faster at small scale. The competitive exclusion is a slow process. The loss of species still continues 15 years after the start of experiment. The removed dominant was partially replaced with functionally dissimilar species.