Micro to Macro Approaches to Understanding Species Interactions
My research focuses on the ecology and evolution of species interactions in biological communities. The interactions among species are central to determining the abundances and dynamics of organisms in communities. In turn, these abundances and dynamics determine several of the services we receive from ecosystems such as food, nutrient cycling, and the control of climate and diseases. I hope that my research on species interactions will help us to understand how ecological systems function and how we can conserve and protect them.
Predator Functional Responses.
Predator functional responses describe predator feeding rates and thus lie at the heart of predator-prey theory. Although the idea of predator functional responses has been around for over half a century and you may have learned about the canonical 'Types' of functional responses often covered in general ecology classes, there is still a lot we don't know about these really important functions. My research attempts understand not just how prey densities influence predator feeding rates (as in most classic functional responses), but to understand how both biotic and abiotic factors together shape functional responses. I work on mathematical theory examining how adding complexity to functional responses alters population dynamics and coexistence among prey, develop methods for estimating predator functional responses, and examine how a variety of factors come together to shape functional responses under field conditions.
Selected Publications:
Coblentz, K.E., M. Novak, J.P. DeLong. 2023. Predator feeding rates may often be unsaturated under typical prey densities. Ecology Letters. 26: 302-312
Coblentz, K.E., and J.P. DeLong. 2021. Estimating predator functional responses using the times between prey captures. Ecology. 102:e03307.
Coblentz, K.E. and J.P. DeLong. 2020. Predator-dependent functional responses alter the coexistence and indirect effects among prey that share a predator. Oikos. 129:1404-1414.
Coblentz, K.E., M. Novak, J.P. DeLong. 2023. Predator feeding rates may often be unsaturated under typical prey densities. Ecology Letters. 26: 302-312
Coblentz, K.E., and J.P. DeLong. 2021. Estimating predator functional responses using the times between prey captures. Ecology. 102:e03307.
Coblentz, K.E. and J.P. DeLong. 2020. Predator-dependent functional responses alter the coexistence and indirect effects among prey that share a predator. Oikos. 129:1404-1414.
Ecological and Evolutionary Feedbacks.
Since beginning my postdoc, I've begun researching how ecological and evolutionary processes interact with one another to shape species interactions. To do so, I use both lab experiments and the development of eco-evolutionary theory. My current empirical research uses evolved lines of paramecium that have spent hundreds of generations at high and low temperatures to understand how prior temperature adaptation influences species interactions and population dynamics. My theoretical work takes advantage of Gillespie Eco-evolutionary Models (GEMs) which provide a computational analogue of evolution that naturally incorporate important biological processes like demographic stochasticity, trait variation, and extinction. One project I am currently really excited about uses GEMs to understand how ecological stability and feasibility boundaries might constrain the evolutionary trajectories of species and ultimately the trait spaces that species are able to occupy.
Selected Publications:
Coblentz, K.E. and J.P. Delong. 2023. Ecological boundaries constrain viable eco-evolutionary pathways. Oikos.
DeLong, J.P. and K.E. Coblentz. 2022. Prey diversity constrains the adaptive potential of predator foraging traits. Oikos. 2022.
Coblentz, K.E. and J.P. Delong. 2023. Ecological boundaries constrain viable eco-evolutionary pathways. Oikos.
DeLong, J.P. and K.E. Coblentz. 2022. Prey diversity constrains the adaptive potential of predator foraging traits. Oikos. 2022.
Community Ecology of Climate Change Adaptation
Climate change is putting pressure on species to either adapt or potentially face extinction. Many of the current projections for how species might adapt to changing climates, for example, those based on thermal performance curves, are based on species' performances across conditions in isolation from other species. Yet, species do not exist this way in nature, and understanding how species adapt to climate change in the presence of other species raises significant challenges. I am currently working on an NSF-funded project asking how consumer-resource interactions influence the ability of a prey species to adapt to warming temperatures using experimental evolution. We hope that this work will improve our understanding of how species interactions and community context can alter the adaptation of species to climate change.
Selected Publications:
Coblentz, K.E., L.A. Treidel, F.P. Biagioli, C. Fragel, A.E. Johnson, D.D. Thilakarathne, L. Yang, J.P. DeLong. A framework for understanding climate change impacts through intra- and interspecific asymmetries in climate change responses.
Selected Publications:
Coblentz, K.E., L.A. Treidel, F.P. Biagioli, C. Fragel, A.E. Johnson, D.D. Thilakarathne, L. Yang, J.P. DeLong. A framework for understanding climate change impacts through intra- and interspecific asymmetries in climate change responses.