Spatial community ecology in highly dynamic landscapes: from island biogeography to metaecosystems Project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) The DynaCom Research Unit, funded by the DFG, lead by Helmut Hillebrand at the University of Oldenburg, investigates island community ecology and biogeography based on a trait-based food-web perspective on spatial dynamics. The different subprojects, based at different universities and research institutions all over Germany, aim to answer overarching questions from different angles, bridging scales and ecosystems. Our subproject SP9 aims for building a trait-based spatial community ecology of island birds. The central objective is to understand the spatial variation in species richness, traits, and community structure of birds on islands. We will use a macroecological approach and thereby contribute, together with the subproject lead by Holger Kreft (University of Göttingen) a global-scale perspective to the DynaCom Research Unit.
Project members