Biological interaction on islands

Biological interaction on islands

Associate professor Jens M. Olesen, Ph.D., M.Sc. & Hort., Institute of Biology, University of Aarhus  

My research lies within ecology and evolution biology. However, the focus is not on species, but on the interaction among them. Nature is not a laboratory; there will always be too many factors that operate simultaneously. However, the ecologically simple oceanic islands provide a good approximation to a laboratory. Archipelagos may, furthermore, be perceived as a set of repetitions of a natural experiment or a set of observations, and they are ideal for comparative studies.

My research aims to explain (1) how species influence the evolution of other species. Species constitute each other’s selection factors, and interactions illustrate these; (2) how communities of species are established in an area; (3) why species communities on islands vary in their ability to resist invasion by new species and extermination of existing species. I shall apply three approaches that are novel to the study of islands:

(1) Study of single species interactions. (2) Network studies in which all interacting species in an area are included (However, I do, as a rule, limit myself to the interaction between and their pollinating and seed disseminating animals). In other words, I construct networks between species and examine their stability mathematically. (3) Comparisons between islands and mainland:

The main contents of the proposed project

I wish to examine plant – animal networks in islands both large and small, islands near as well as far, and islands young as well as old. Participation in the Galathea 3 expedition from Jakarta to the Solomon Islands will give me some fantastic opportunities for studying interaction in a number of highly diverse islands. The sea voyage between the locations will be spent on sorting and classifying the animals and plant material collected.

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