Research group Group Winder

We study drivers of food web interactions and community dynamics to better understand the ecological impacts of environmental change on ecosystem functioning.

The goal of our research activities is to understand underlying causes that regulate food web structure and community dynamics. We are particularly interested in how species interactions and environmental drivers regulate food web dynamics and how they may look like in the future. We address questions mainly in aquatic systems with a special emphasis on planktonic organisms.  
Our research methods combine field surveys, experiments at multiple scales and analysis of long-term observational data. We work in lakes and marine systems, in temperate and tropical locations.

Ongoing projects:

• Consequences of environmental change on plankton species interaction networks and ecosystem function  
• Plankton-fish interactions: an understudied link in Baltic Sea food webs and fisheries management
• Drivers and functions of protist parasites in plankton food webs
• Larval fish production and dispersal in critical habitats of coastal East Africa
• Sustainable management and governance of water and soil in Bolivia

Group members

Group managers

Monika Quinones Winder

Professor

Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences

monika.winder@su.se

See profile page for Monika Quinones Winder

Members

Neea Hanström

PhD student

Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences

neea.hanstrom@su.se

See profile page for Neea Hanström

Tianshuo Xu

PhD student

Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences

tianshuo.xu@su.se

See profile page for Tianshuo Xu

Noah Ngisiang'e

Doktorand

Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences

noah.ngisiange@su.se

See profile page for Noah Ngisiang'e

Kinlan Jan

Doktorand

Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences

kinlan.jan@su.se

See profile page for Kinlan Jan

Research projects

Ongoing

Completed

Consequences of environmental change on plankton species interaction networks and ecosystem function

In the world’s largest ecosystem, marine plankton form complex trophic interaction networks that are influenced by environmental conditions.

Larval fish production and dispersal in critical habitats of coastal East Africa

Human societies are dependent on ecosystem services for the provision of natural resources, and especially so in poorer developing areas. In coastal East Africa, a sustainable ecosystem production of fish is essential for food security and sustaining human livelihood.

Plankton-fish interactions: an understudied link in Baltic Sea food webs and fisheries management

Small-sized pelagic fish have a central role in marine food webs as they control production of predatory fish and at the same time feed on zooplankton and indirectly control algal blooms.

Sustainable management and governance of water and soil in Bolivia

Food and Water are fundamental human rights and are constantly under threat. Worldwide, and specially in developing countries such as Bolivia, Water and Soil management is a strategic area for environmentally sustainable development of cities and peri-urban areas.