Adapting to change

We explore the possibilities as well as limitations of organisms to adapt to environmental change with its effects on population dynamics and community structures.

A basket-like structure, placed upside down on the mud of the Wadden Sea. The structure is overgrown with seaweeds, thus functioning as an artifical reef. (photo: Erik Hoekendijk)

Using empirical data, both from experiments and from long-term monitoring programmes that NIOZ runs, we can study this interplay in detail. The empirical insights work in tight connection with theoretical models predicting resilience, state shifts, and evolution, which allows a comprehensive understanding of ecological interactions in a changing coastal system.Â