PRE2023-NICED - Integrating ecological and biogeographical perspectives on the interplay between niche and coexistence along species distributions (PID2022-140985NB-C21)

NICED will (i) study the spatial variations in the interplay between the species’ niche-based responses and their coexistence from a biogeographical perspective; and (ii) integrate previous theoretical models into a common framework, testing them against empirical results. NICED will survey dune plant communities, including spatial variations in host-symbiont associations, and design novel macroecological analyses relating species co-occurrence and spatial association, with their niche and ecological similarity. Conducting these analyses with biodiversity big data requires accounting for data-driven uncertainty, so NICED will implement data cleaning protocols and maps of biogeographical ignorance (i.e. spatial accounts of uncertainty) into R packages and ModestR, an already established software suite. The PhD student will receive training in community ecology, macroecological analyses (incl. Programming) and theoretical modelling, and additional training on plant surveys. S/he will regularly work at MNCN-CSIC, but may visit Vigo University for meetings with the co-supervisor when necessary. The student will join a PhD program in ecology at UAM or other university placed in Madrid, and will use the “pocket money” of the FPI grant for visits to international institutions to seek for specific training related with the PhD. S/he will present the results in, at least, four papers, as well as in one international and one national meeting.