Self-organization in complex ecosystems (Hosted by NCEAS)

• Jordi Bascompte

Jordi Bascompte's Web Site

Abstract
I combine mathematical models, simulations, and data set analysis to address fundamental and applied questions in ecology. My approach is both synthetic and interdisciplinary, merging tools and concepts from different fields. My work is eminently collaborative (click here for a list of my collaborators).

One major interest deals with the spatial dimension of population and community dynamics. For example, I have studied how the coexistence of competitors and natural enemies is enhanced by spatial heterogeneity arising from the interaction between local dynamics and short-range dispersal [e.g.,Bascompte & Sol¿ (1995), Trends Ecol. Evol. 10: 361-366 ].

I use novel approximations derived from my basic research to attempt to answer unresolved questions in conservation biology. For example, how much habitat should be preserved, or how many patches are necessary for the persistence of a metapopulation. My research yielded simple rules of thumb aimed at answering these kinds of questions [e.g., Bascompte & Sol¿ (1996), J. Anim. Ecol. 65: 465-473; Bascompte, Possingham & Roughgarden (2002), Am. Nat. 159: 128-137]. Another research interest focuses on networks of ecological interactions involving both food webs and plant-animal coevolutionary networks (pollination and seed dispersal). My goal is twofold: to describe the structure of these networks, and to relate this structure to their persistence and coevolution [e.g., Bascompte, Jordano, Meli n & Olesen (2003), Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 100: 9383-9387; Bascompte, Meli n & Sala (2005), Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102: 5443-5447].