Handbook of Trait-Based Ecology: From Theory to R Tools

Functional ecology is the branch of ecology that focuses on various functions that species play in the community or ecosystem in which they occur. This accessible guide offers the main concepts and tools in trait-based ecology, and their tricks, covering different trophic levels and organism types. It is designed for students, researchers and practitioners who wish to get a handy synthesis of existing concepts, tools and trends in trait-based ecology, and wish to apply it to their own field of interest. Where relevant, exercises specifically designed to be run in R are included, along with accompanying on-line resources including solutions for exercises and R functions, and updates reflecting current developments in this fast-changing field. Based on more than a decade of teaching experience, the authors developed and improved the way theoretical aspects and analytical tools of trait-based ecology are introduced and explained to readers.

Francesco de Bello is a researcher at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and Assistant Professor at the University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic. He has developed and applied several widely used tools to compute indices of functional diversity and assess community assembly mechanisms.

Carlos P. Carmona is an Associate Professor at the University of Tartu, Estonia. Currently he is working on the development of tools to assess functional diversity across scales while incorporating within-species trait variability.

André T. C. Dias is an Assistant Professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil. His research uses trait-based approaches to understand both species response to environmental conditions and their effects on ecosystems processes.

Lars Götzenberger is a researcher at the Institute of Botany at the Czech Academy of Sciences and the University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic. His research focuses on how traits evolve and affect species co-existence at different spatial and temporal scales.

Marco Moretti is a Senior Scientist at the Swiss Federal Research Institute (WSL) in Birmensdorf, Switzerland. He uses trait-based approaches to assess the response of communities to global stressors and the effects on ecosystem processes within and across trophic levels.