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Abstract:

Nowadays, natural ecosystems are modified by several strong human influences, known collectively as global changes (global warming, habitat fragmentation, species introductions,...). In this context, an important issue is to assess whether these changes impact on the coexistence and diversity of species in ecological communities.
Through the development of theoretical and statistical models, I have characterised the impact of some avatars of these changes on communities structured either trophically or spatially.
These models essentially deal with

• (i) relationships between ecological niche, spatial distribution and diversity,
• (ii) food webs and their peculiarities in community ecology,
• (iii) the explanation of species coexistence based on a competition-colonisation trade-off, and
• (iv) the evolution of dispersal ability in response to environmental changes.

Several discussion points and ideas arise from this group of studies, dealing mostly with

• (i) model specification needs and qualities,
• (ii) available empirical data, their quality and their relationship with models, and
• (iii) the possibilities of applications of general models to conservation and biodiversity issues.

Keywords :global changes ; coexistence ; dispersal ; community ecology ; evolution ; model ; food web ; spatial structure