Is functional trait diversity declining in the tropics?
Graduate students: Apply to participate in the CIEE Living Data Project working group “Is functional trait diversity declining in the tropics?”
Group Leaders: Diane Srivastava (UBC), Sarah Ravoth (UBC), and Catherine McClure (Colorado State)
Date of Working Group: Nov 11-15, 2024
In person location: University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
Deadline: August 8, 2024
Apply here : closed
Recent and dramatic insect declines have been reported in ecosystems around the world, but the universality and ecological consequences of such declines are largely unknown. In this working group, you will work with graduate students and researchers from across Canada to test if and how functional trait diversity changes over a 26-year time-series of tropical insects. The working group will be held 11-15th November in Vancouver, and all expenses (including travel, accommodation, meals) will be covered. Students will work with peers and experts to answer key questions in global change ecology and have the opportunity to co-author publications. Students may also be eligible for two course credits. This is a great way to learn new skills and add to your CV!
Students must be currently registered in a graduate program in ecology, environmental science, evolution or a related discipline in a Canadian university. Students should either be enrolled in a CIEE (Canadian Institute of Ecology and Evolution) or BIOS2 member university, or they or their supervisor must be a current CSEE (Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution) member. The highest priority will go to students who have already taken the Living Data project courses “Synthesis statistics for ecology and evolution” and “Scientific collaboration in ecology and evolution” OR who are registered or commit to register to take these courses in fall 2024. Together with these two courses, participation in this working group will fulfill most of the requirements for a CIEE Certificate in Synthetic and Collaborative Science. Students who have participated in a previous Living Data Project working group are ineligible.
The dataset we will analyse is based on surveys of aquatic insects found in bromeliad plants collected from 1997-2023 in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, a region experiencing intensifying drought conditions. Functional traits can help explain how bromeliad insects differ in drought vulnerability as well as the ability of the community to affect its ecosystem. Our goals are to: (1) Document any long-term changes in the functional diversity and composition of the insect communities. (2) Test hypotheses about temporal changes in functional diversity and their relationship with changes in climate. (3) Contribute to understanding functional diversity within an understudied ecoregion (tropical rainforests) and ecosystem (aquatic insects). Participants will collectively decide on the most interesting questions and the best analyses, and collaboratively work on co-authored research article(s). All necessary background on the system and potential analyses will be provided in the working group.