Tel Aviv University, Israel
Biosketch: Michal Gruntman is a senior lecturer at Tel Aviv University, Israel. Her work focuses on plant traits and the way they vary in response to the environment at ecological and evolutionary time scales. She studies plant responses to their biotic environment, including competition above and belowground or herbivory, as well as their abiotic environment such as water availability, soil salinity, and pollution. In her research, she uses model species, as well as native or invasive plants with varying evolutionary backgrounds to answer fundamental questions in plant ecology and explore the way plants are impacted by anthropogenic threats.
Title: Divided we stand: strategies and mechanisms of plant competition
Abstract: TBA
Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Biosketch: Dina in ‘t Zandt is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology at Radboud University in the Netherlands and a Marie Curie Fellow in Terrestrial Ecology at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology. Her research focuses on plant-soil microbiota interactions and their co-occurrence networks, testing how these interactions and networks are reshaped by global change, contribute to the resilience to plant communities during extreme climate events, and drive plant community patterns in time and space. Her research origins lie in mountain grasslands, but her more recent work has branched out to include other systems, including managed grasslands and forest ecosystems. Her research approach is grounded in ecological theory and field experiments, complemented by controlled experiments and data analytics to, ultimate, unravel the complex role of plant-soil microbiota interactions in ecosystem dynamics.
Title: Plant-soil microbiota interactions: drivers of plant species coexistence in time and space
Abstract: What drives plant species coexistence, and how can this knowledge be leveraged to preserve plant community diversity? Uncovering the mechanisms underlying coexistence of plant species is a long-standing challenge in ecology. Growing evidence suggests that interactions between plants and soil microbiota are critical actors in stabilising competitive differences among plant species. According to theory, negative interactions between plants and antagonistic soil microbiota serve as a stabilising mechanism by limiting the growth and competitive advantage of competitively strong plant species. However, testing this theory remains a significant challenge due to the sheer complexity and diversity of plant-soil microbiota interactions, as well as the long timescales over which plant species coexistence mechanisms operate. In this lecture, I will critically test whether empirical findings from short- and long-term experiments align with theoretical predictions, with a particular focus on mechanisms operating across temporal and spatial scales. Additionally, I will explore the plant-soil microbial mechanisms underlying these processes and ask: where do we go next?
Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
Biosketch: Biodiversity on Earth is rapidly disappearing due to global change. My research ambition is to understand the processes responsible for the origin, diversification and adaptability of biodiversity, to be able to predict future declines and preserve ecosystems and their functions. In my research, I have shown that the evolutionary ‘match’ between plant functional traits and environments triggered explosive species radiations in certain groups, times and places, by fostering speciation or reducing extinction rates. I am exploring the generality of this across angiosperm lineages, and across large spatial (e.g., biodiversity hotspots) and temporal scales. Furthermore, to fully understand diversification, it is essential to integrate micro- and macroevolution. I do this by taking large, vertebrate-dispersed fruits (‘megafruits’) – dispersed by megafaunal animals – as a case study. Specifically, I evaluate the evolution of megafruit lineages, species and populations through geological time, especially since the extinction of their primary dispersers – the megafauna – in the Quaternary. By understanding the ultimate drivers of evolutionary diversification, I hope to contribute to improved conservation of biodiversity. In addition, I am passionate about communicating my research to a broader audience, for example, through the use of video and public talks.
Title: Diversification from lineages to populations
Abstract: TBA
Department of Botany, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
Biosketch: I am an early-career researcher with a strong interest in functional ecology. My work focuses on plants, primarily in temperate grasslands, exploring their responses to environmental factors and their effects on ecosystem functions. Recently, I have been concentrating on the role of plant diversity in ecosystem processes. After earning my Ph.D. in 2018 from the University of Montpellier, France, I held academic positions at the University of Lyon, France, and the University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic. Currently, I am a group leader at the department of Botany, Faculty of science, at the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice. My research integrates experiments, theoretical frameworks, and advanced data analysis. I aim to bridge ecological theory with practical tools to enhance our understanding of "real-world" ecosystem functioning. In my talk, I will present recent advancements in understanding the drivers of the temporal stability of ecological communities. I will introduce a unified framework to disentangle the ecological processes that stabilize community functions, supported by examples from long-term datasets collected in diverse ecological contexts.
Title: The drivers of stability of ecological communities: from theory to data analysis
Abstract: TBA
Institute of Entomology, Czech Academy of Science, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
Biosketch: I study insect-plant relationships, the evolution of plant defences, and chemical ecology, focusing on how insect-plant coevolution drives the remarkable chemical diversity in plants. My research spans macroevolutionary patterns of chemical diversity in response to natural enemies, intraspecific variation along ecological gradients, and temporal changes within individual plants to counter herbivores. I am particularly fascinated by the chemical defences of Salix and Ficus, key genera that support diverse herbivorous insects, as they can help us understand the feedback dynamics between the diversity of plant metabolites and insect communities.
Title: Potent, rich, or different: What governs plant chemical strategies and the astonishing diversity of their metabolites?
Abstract: TBA
