Kurzfassung

How do species and communities respond to the current climate change? To answer this, Project Area C focuses mainly on biological processes resulting from ecological or ecophysiological adaptation (acclimatisation) or those driven by fast genetic selection within a few generations. Studies are conducted in terrestrial environments, such as the forest and soil compartments, as well as in aquatic systems, like lake and marine plankton communities and river populations.
Until recently, biological...How do species and communities respond to the current climate change? To answer this, Project Area C focuses mainly on biological processes resulting from ecological or ecophysiological adaptation (acclimatisation) or those driven by fast genetic selection within a few generations. Studies are conducted in terrestrial environments, such as the forest and soil compartments, as well as in aquatic systems, like lake and marine plankton communities and river populations.
Until recently, biological archives have mainly been used to investigate long-term processes, using, for example, pollen isolated from postglacial sediments. We use samples from recent decades to assess the consequences of current climate change. Genetic methods are used to reconstruct the molecular basis of adaptations to temperature shifts. Furthermore, we explore the physiological response of plants and animals arising from seeds and resting eggs to variations in temperature. In addition to natural archives, we also explore collections of natural history museums to assess the population genetic consequences of recent climate changes (e.g. loss of diversity). This approach is based on several collaborations with other institutes to gather appropriate sampling material and to cover a wide array of animal and plant groups. » weiterlesen» einklappen