Dr. Kimberly Komatsu: From Communities to Ecosystems: Linking Ecological Responses to Multiple Global Change Drivers

The Biology Seminar Series welcomes Dr. Kimberly Komatsu, Senior Scientist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. Dr. Komatsu’s seminar will take place via Zoom.

Abstract: Many global change factors, such as nitrogen deposition, herbivore losses, and species invasions, are occurring simultaneously worldwide. Ecologists have been tasked with forecasting community and ecosystem responses to these multiple concurrent drivers. Dr. Komatsu’s research is focused on plant, invertebrate, and microbial community responses to multiple global change drivers, and whether these community shifts drive changes in ecosystem function. She will discuss the results of data synthesis efforts examining global patterns of plant community and ecosystem responses to altered resources. Additionally, she will explore case study examples of how species interactions, such as mutualisms and herbivory, drive these responses in terrestrial ecosystems. Overall, Dr. Komatsu’s research provides evidence that plant, microbial, and invertebrate communities change in response to a wide variety of anthropogenically altered environmental drivers, and that these changes have consequences for ecosystem function.

For Zoom information, please contact Nichole Miller nklossn@syr.edu