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Physiological Ecology, Population Dynamics, and Species Interactions

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Organisms are the actors performing the evolutionary play in the ecological theater. Biophysical laws define the range of possible physiological traits that organisms can express. Physiological processes in turn constrain population dynamics of individual species that lead to the intraspecific and interspecific interactions found in the complex communities that are studied by Harvard Forest LTER researchers. The ecological theater also is the template for evolutionary changes that feed back on and modify organismal physiology and ecology. Both long-term and short-term experiments at the Harvard Forest LTER examine the intersection between biophysical laws, physiological processes, population dynamics, and interspecific interactions. In turn, results from these studies are used to integrate ecological processes occurring at the level of individual organisms and species with whole-ecosystem dynamics

Associated Researchers

Stephen DeStefano (USGS)
Aaron Ellison
Ed Faison (Highstead)
Serita Frey (University of New Hampshire)
N. Michele Holbrook
Jerry Melillo (Marine Biological Laboratory)
David Orwig
Kristina Stinson (UMass Amherst)

Related Data & Publications

Publications - Published papers from Harvard Forest related to physiological ecology, population dynamics, and species interactions.

Datasets - Data and metadata for physiological ecology, population dynamics, and species interactions.

Abstracts for Current Research - Summaries of ongoing physiological ecology, population dynamics, and species interactions research at the Forest.