Collective Behaviour and Ecosystem Dynamics

  • Date: Nov 15, 2022
  • Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Benjamin Dalziel
  • Benjamin Dalziel is an Associate Professor at Oregon State University interested in ecological and evolutionary dynamics, particularly related to the health of human and animal populations, and to the maintenance of biodiversity.
  • Room: Seminar room MPI-AB Bücklestrasse + Online
  • Host: Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
  • Contact: all.science@ab.mpg.de
Collective Behaviour and Ecosystem Dynamics
Collective behaviour is common in many taxa, and thus occurs across ecosystems, from biofilms to cities. Through cross-scale feedback loops between individuals, populations and their environments, collective behaviour has the potential to shape ecosystem processes, and to be driven by ecosystem states. Yet interplays between collective behavior and ecosystem dynamics are not well understood. I will present theoretical work on emergent social-ecological feedback in consumer-resource systems, which indicates the potential for collective behaviour to play a key role in ecosystem stability. I will then discuss an observational study of seasonal influenza epidemics in US cities, where collective mobility patterns in urban centers may incubate critical chains of viral transmission outside of the peak season, creating systematic differences in climate-driven epidemic patterns in metropolises.

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