A state-space approach to understand responses of organisms, populations and communities to multiple environmental drivers

Understanding the response of biotic systems to multiple environmental drivers is one of the major concerns in ecology. The most common approach in multiple driver research includes the classification of interactive responses into categories (antagonistic, synergistic). However, there are situations where the use of classification schemes limits our understanding or cannot be applied. Here, we introduce and explore an approach that allows us to better appreciate variability in responses to multiple drivers. We then apply it to a case, comparing effects of heatwaves on performance of a cold-adapted species and a warm-adapted competitor. The heatwaves had a negative effect on the native (but not on the exotic) species and the approach highlighted that the exotic species was less responsive to multivariate environmental variation than the native species. Overall, we show how the proposed approach can enhance our understanding of variation in responses due to different driver intensities, species, genotypes, ontogeny, life-phases or among spatial scales at any level of biological organization. Gimenez et al. explore a state-space approach (SSEA) to examine variation in effects of multiple environmental drivers on biological systems. They illustrate the SSEA with a case study where larvae of an exotic crab were less responsive to an experimental heatwave than those of a native species.

Automated summary

Understanding the response of biotic systems to multiple environmental drivers is a major concern in ecology. The common approach of classifying interactive responses into categories may have limitations, leading researchers to introduce a new method to better understand variability in responses to multiple drivers. This approach was applied to a case study comparing the effects of heatwaves on different species, revealing differences in responsiveness between native and exotic species.