Current research
Currently under construction - please check back later
Previous Research
Phenotypic Plasticity and Evolvability
Predicting if and how quickly organisms can
adapt to anthropogenic change is one of the
greatest challenges of our times. Unfortunately, prediction is notoriously challenging in
practice because the rate and direction of adaptive evolutionary change depends on the
phenotypic variation that is available to selection. This, in turn, depends on the relationship
between genetic and phenotypic variation (GP map), something that is very difficult and
laborious to quantify. As a result, biologists have generally been rather pessimistic about the
possibility to predict evolution over more than a few generations, even when selective
pressures are known. Recent theory suggests a way out of this dilemma. The basic idea is that
the responses to genetic (e.g., mutation) and environmental perturbation are linked through
development. Here we set out to answer the question: Why are organisms so good at
adapting, and can they get even better? Utilizing environmental perturbations as selective
pressures, we are studying the relationship between plasticity and evolvability in green algae.
Stay tuned for the first results.
Road Salt
Salinization of freshwater
ecosystems
is a growing hazard for organisms and ecosystem functioning worldwide. In northern
latitudes, road salt that is being transported into water bodies can cause
year-round
increases in lake salinity levels. Exploring the environmental factors driving the
susceptibility of freshwater zooplankton to road salt is crucial for assessing the
impact of salinization on food web processes. We found that the susceptibility of
freshwater zooplankton to salinization strongly depends on the dietary lipid supply
and
thus the phytoplankton
community composition. Hence, trophic state
related differences in the phytoplankton community composition need to be considered
when assessing the consequences of salinization for freshwater ecosystem
functioning.
However, in nature it is seldom only a single stressor but rather a variety of
stressors
affecting eco- system functioning and organismal interactions. We could show that
road
salt and the tire rubber
antiozonant, 6PPD, have synergistic negative effects
on
the population growth on rotifers, common freshwater herbivores.
We were involved in a global study, assessing
how salt tolerance of Daphnia is related to the
prevailing environmental conditions of site of origin. During the summer of 2023, we also
participated in an Aquacosm experiment,
investigating different modes of salinization on
plankton
communities. Stay tuned for the first results on both projects.
Ecological Stoichiometry
A key component of the theory of ecological
stoichiometry is the Growth Rate Hypothesis
(GRH). The GRH states that variation in organismal stoichiometry (in particular, C:P and
N:P ratios) is driven by growth-dependent allocation to P-rich ribosomal RNA that leads to
differential increases in biomass P content. The GRH was originally formulated to help
explain observed differences in C:N:P ratios of different species of zooplankton and has since
been applied across a wide range of organisms. The GRH has found broad but
not uniform
support in studies across diverse biota and habitats. In this project we investigated if there
are
fundamental rules that link the biochemical properties of cells to dynamical processes in eco-
systems. We evaluated the GRH with intensive physiological, evolutionary, and ecological work
on three model organisms that represent key ecological functional groups: Pseudomonas
putida
(chemoheterotrophic decomposer), the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
(photoautotroph),
and the crustacean Daphnia pulex (primary consumer / herbivore).
In a first publication we show that
in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, the different components of the GRH differed in their
robustness. The most reliable component is that %P of organismal biomass increases with faster
growth. Furthermore, we could show that the GRH is most robust under high N:P environmental
conditions and performs worst under low light conditions, helping to clarify the domain of
conditions under which the GRH holds or fails to hold. More publications on the empirical work
have been submitted- stay tuned.
Evolution of grazer resistance
Lake ecosystems around the globe
are
suffering from nutrient pollution and the associated proliferation of harmful
cyanobacteria. In past decades, eutrophication has been reversed in many lake
ecosystems
through extensive restoration measures. Making use of resurrection ecology, we
showed
how trophic state-related changes in the relative abundance of cyanobacteria
resulted in
the evolution and the subsequent loss of grazer
resistance to cyanobacteria. We demonstrated that
this evolution of grazer resistance involved changes in dietary
sterol requirements, challenging the common assumption that changes in the
ability to cope with cyanobacteria are exclusively mediated through an adaptation to
cyanobacterial toxins.