Marie-Josée Fortin

University Professor, CRC, FRSC, University of Toronto

Ecological Networks in Dynamics Landscapes

February 24, 2021 - 12:00 PM Eastern Time

Talk Abstract:

Network ecology is an emerging field allowing researchers to conceptualize and model complex and dynamic ecological systems. Here, I highlight the parallel developments in ecological network studies and spatial network applications and their convergence in the use of network theory. Then, I summarize how ecological, spatial, temporal, and spatio-temporal networks can be formalized into the framework of multilayer networks. Specifically, I present how the spatio-temporal network can be analysed focusing either on the dynamics on the network or of the network. Such distinctions provide the foundations for the formulation of an “ecological network dynamics hypothesis” (ENDH) stating key network topologies that constrain the dynamic of ecological systems. Such an ENDH could in turn permit assessing trade-offs in network topologies and functions that affect the persistence of ecological systems. I then propose the integration of ecological networks with spatial networks to improve our understanding of complex ecological systems. This integration combines filtering the ecological interaction network based on motifs with the delineation of patches in the spatial network using an edge detection algorithm scalable to species dispersal abilities. I conclude that network ecology with its analytical methods will improve our understanding on how ecological systems will respond in spatially dynamic landscapes.

Speaker Bio:

Marie-Josée Fortin is a University Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Spatial Ecology. Professor Fortin is recognized internationally as a leader in spatial ecology with expertise in network theory to address both fundamental and applied research to conserve biodiversity in fragmented landscapes. She pioneered the field of spatial analysis of ecological data and contributed to the development of numerous analytical methods and models. Her research endeavors focus on conservation biology issues. She investigates how ecological processes and environmental factors affect species persistence, species dispersal, and species range dynamics. Her research is at the interface of several disciplines (spatial ecology, conservation, forest ecology, disturbance ecology, community ecology, landscape genetics, spatial epidemiology, spatial statistics, spatially-explicit modeling, and network theory) where the most important challenging problems lie.