Functional traits have long been known to be important for the way that organisms perform. For example, body size determines predator-prey interactions, movement behaviour, and ecological processes; knowledge of scaling relationships between body size and these ecological properties therefore opens possibilities for predicting ecosystem responses to environmental change. We are investigating a range of questions around the role of morphological and life history traits in determining the responses of organisms to environmental change and consequences for ecosystem functioning. This research ranges from microbes to vertebrates, allowing us to draw conclusions across environmental contexts and ecological scales.
The EcoDiv Lab 