ESIIL Postdoctoral Associate

Project Summary

An emerging focus of ecology is to understand how material legacies – biogenic remnants of dead organisms – affect patterns of demographic processes in living species, which in turn shape patterns of community assembly and properties of resilience. A particularly unresolved aspect is how demography in living foundation species (organisms that create the biological structures of ecosystems, e.g., trees, corals, and oysters) is influenced by the material legacies of dead foundation species. Here, we aim to leverage the NSF Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) network to assess demographic responses of foundation species to both gradual and pulse inputs of material legacies across terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Specifically, we will utilize LTER time series to evaluate the magnitude and direction of material legacy effects and identify commonalities and dissimilarities among disparate ecosystem types. Insights from this research will help us achieve a generalized understanding of the impacts material legacies have on populations of foundation species and ensure we are best equipped to manage these legacies as they become more or less prevalent under changing global conditions.

Visit Dr. Kai Kopecky's project repository to learn more: LTER Material Legacies