Micro to Macro Approaches to Ecology and Evolution in a Changing World
Understanding the impacts of global change on species and ecosystems is one of the largest current scientific and societal challenges. My research focuses on some particular difficulties with tackling this challenge by taking an eco-evolutionary approach. An approach taking both ecological and evolutionary perspectives is necessary because global changes, such as those in temperature, have wide-ranging effects from those on the physiology of individuals to the life histories and interactions within and among species while also applying selective pressure on populations that can lead to rapid, contemporary evolution. Overall, my research hopes to provide fundamental ecological and evolutionary insights that allow us to develop effective management strategies to conserve and protect biodiversity and the ecological functions it provides in the face of a changing world. To achieve this goal, I combine tools from across ecological and evolutionary sub-fields such as theoretical, statistical, microbial and macroecology, experimental evolution, and quantitative genetics, taking both micro and macro approaches to the problem. On this page, I summarize some current research projects working to better our understanding of ecology and evolution in a changing world.
Trophic Interactions.
Nearly, if not all, species on Earth are involved in trophic interactions as resources, consumers, or both. Furthermore, the strengths of these interactions have important consequences for the dynamics and stability of populations, food webs, and ecosystems. My research on trophic interaction strengths seeks to understand both the fundamental ecological and evolutionary determinants of trophic interaction strengths and how these interaction strengths are likely to be affected by global change. To do so, I've taken a variety of approaches from developing new theory on the ultimate evolutionary determinants of trophic interaction strengths to using field and laboratory experiments to examine proximate mechanisms. Future work in this area aims to build on these insights to extend theory on the ultimate causes of trophic interaction strengths to complex food webs and to understand how global change is likely to alter interaction strengths through the lens of this theory.
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.
The 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 and community context using experimental evolution. We hope that this work will improve our understanding of how species interactions and species interactions 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 non-compensatory intra- and interspecific 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 non-compensatory intra- and interspecific climate change responses.
