Interactions among organisms are a key component of biodiversity, shaping ecosystem functioning and species responses to environmental change. We investigate how abiotic factors such as climate and soil, together with biotic interactions between plants and animals, determine species distributions along environmental gradients. Our work combines field observations, experiments, molecular approaches, GPS telemetry, and advanced statistical modelling to elucidate these mechanisms.
We maintain a long-term model system in the Swiss Alps centred on interactions between the spotted nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes) and Swiss stone pine (Pinus cembra). Here, we study how intraspecific variation in seed dispersal influences plant recruitment and the capacity of species to respond to ongoing environmental change. In the Ecuadorian Andes, we address questions related to trait-driven reassembly of interaction networks in regenerating forests and trait-dependent seedling establishment in both protected and human-used forest systems.
