Plants, insects and vertebrates: an integrated study of ecological and evolutionary interactions on population and ecosystem levels
| Name: | Plants, insects and vertebrates: an integrated study of ecological and evolutionary interactions on population and ecosystem levels |
|---|---|
| Researchers: |
Dvorský Miroslav (member in research team) Sosnová Monika (member in research team) |
| Provider: | GA ČR |
| Number: | GA206/08/H044 |
| Realization from: | 2008 |
| Realization to: | 2011 |
| Summary: | Our project offers mutual integration and interaction of 25 postgraduate projects from related disciplines (ecology, zoology, and botany) in the following key aspects: (i) integration of population, community and macroecological studies, (ii) integration of vegetation, insect and vertebrate studies, (iii) integration of studies from temperate and tropical ecosystems, (iv) integration of ecological and phylogenetic approaches to the study of populations and ecosystems, (v) integration of observational and experimental approaches in ecology, (vi) integration of basic ecological research and applied studies in nature conservation, (vii) interaction of various methodologies: modelling, statistics, experimental ecology and ethology, cladistics, community ecology and taxonomy. The dissertation topics constitute 5 thematic clusters: (i) experimental ecology of plant populations and communities, (ii) ecology of insect communities in temperate and tropical ecosystems, (iii) vegetative regeneration in plants, (iv) population dynamics and life-history strategies of plants and animals, and (v) aposematism and mimicry in true bugs and the ethology, ecology and phylogeny of their avian predators. The project includes collaboration among scientists from various research fields, who also supervise the project dissertations, co-ordinated dissertation projects, the programme of visits by postgraduate students at collaborating leading research institutions abroad, presentation of disseration results at international congresses, and a series of seminars given by visiting researchers from overseas. |