Biodiversity is the talk of the day. The complexity and diversity of the biological world is in decline due to
numerous anthropogenic pressures. In order to understand the complex concept of biodiversity, a sound
theory of ecology is required.
A theory of ecology should be able to explain many universal (spatial) biodiversity patterns.
Despite the obvious topics of study, ecology remains very poor in theory. In this thesis project, the only
true analytical theory of ecology, the Neutral Theory of Ecology and Biogeography (NT), is used to explore
the dynamics behind spatial biodiversity patterns.
A Mechanistic Model (Worm & Tittensor, 2018) is used to explain empirical spatial alpha diversity patterns.
Analytical Models (Azaele et al., 2015) are used to explore universal empirical biodiversity patterns.
Despite good predictions of alpha diversity patterns, the Mechanistic Model produces unrealistic beta
diversity. The model dynamics appear to be too simple.
The Analytical Models yield excellent agreement with empirical data, making a strong case for the use of
NT. Further development is required to expand model application to realistic ecological data sets.
Managing Thesis and Internship Exchanges
