Starter Grant: Individual-based Studies of Ecological Response to Climate Change at Multiple Spatial and Temporal Scales

The PI received a postdoctoral fellowship in 1998 (DBI 9804178) to explore how changing climate might affect the long-term demographic strategies of plants and red deer in Norway. Dr. Post collaborated with Dr. Stenseth in Norway on quantitative aspects of the project. The PI in now in a tenure track position at The Pennsylvania State University. He proposes to use highly resolved field data at multiple spatial and temporal scales to resolve the interactions between climate and trophic structure (predators, herbivores, and plants) using cutting-edge individual-based models. This project will advance ecological understanding in that hypothesis-driven and process-oriented perspectives will replace current approaches involving retrospective time-series analyses. The integration of well designed field studies of wolves, moose, and vegetation in the environs of Denali Park in Alaska, and advanced quantitative modeling will facilitate development of a unifying theory regarding the effects of climate change on community stability.