@article{WangWhiteGrimmetal.2018,
  author    = {Wang, Ming and White, Neil and Grimm, Volker and Hofman, Helen and Doley, David and Thorp, Grant and Cribb, Bronwen and Wherritt, Ella and Han, Liqi and Wilkie, John and Hanan, Jim},
  title     = {Pattern-oriented modelling as a novel way to verify and validate functional-structural plant models},
  series = {Annals of botany},
  volume    = {121},
  journal   = {Annals of botany},
  number    = {5},
  publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press},
  address   = {Oxford},
  issn      = {0305-7364},
  doi       = {10.1093/aob/mcx187},
  pages     = {941 -- 959},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {Background and Aims Functional-structural plant (FSP) models have been widely used to understand the complex interactions between plant architecture and underlying developmental mechanisms. However, to obtain evidence that a model captures these mechanisms correctly, a clear distinction must be made between model outputs used for calibration and thus verification, and outputs used for validation. In pattern-oriented modelling (POM), multiple verification patterns are used as filters for rejecting unrealistic model structures and parameter combinations, while a second, independent set of patterns is used for validation. Key Results After calibration, our model simultaneously reproduced multiple observed architectural patterns. The model then successfully predicted, without further calibration, the validation patterns. The model supports the hypothesis that carbon allocation can be modelled as being dependent on current organ biomass and sink strength of each organ type, and also predicted the observed developmental timing of the leaf sink-source transition stage.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{CrawfordJeltschMayetal.2018,
  author    = {Crawford, Michael and Jeltsch, Florian and May, Felix and Grimm, Volker and Schl{\"a}gel, Ulrike E.},
  title     = {Intraspecific trait variation increases species diversity in a trait-based grassland model},
  series = {Oikos},
  volume    = {128},
  journal   = {Oikos},
  number    = {3},
  publisher = {Wiley},
  address   = {Hoboken},
  issn      = {0030-1299},
  doi       = {10.1111/oik.05567},
  pages     = {441 -- 455},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {Intraspecific trait variation (ITV) is thought to play a significant role in community assembly, but the magnitude and direction of its influence are not well understood. Although it may be critical to better explain population persistence, species interactions, and therefore biodiversity patterns, manipulating ITV in experiments is challenging. We therefore incorporated ITV into a trait- and individual-based model of grassland community assembly by adding variation to the plants' functional traits, which then drive life-history tradeoffs. Varying the amount of ITV in the simulation, we examine its influence on pairwise-coexistence and then on the species diversity in communities of different initial sizes. We find that ITV increases the ability of the weakest species to invade most, but that this effect does not scale to the community level, where the primary effect of ITV is to increase the persistence and abundance of the competitively-average species. Diversity of the initial community is also of critical importance in determining ITV's efficacy; above a threshold of interspecific diversity, ITV does not increase diversity further. For communities below this threshold, ITV mainly helps to increase diversity in those communities that would otherwise be low-diversity. These findings suggest that ITV actively maintains diversity by helping the species on the margins of persistence, but mostly in habitats of relatively low alpha and beta diversity.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{TeckentrupGrimmKramerSchadtetal.2018,
  author    = {Teckentrup, Lisa and Grimm, Volker and Kramer-Schadt, Stephanie and Jeltsch, Florian},
  title     = {Community consequences of foraging under fear},
  series = {Ecological modelling : international journal on ecological modelling and engineering and systems ecolog},
  volume    = {383},
  journal   = {Ecological modelling : international journal on ecological modelling and engineering and systems ecolog},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {Amsterdam},
  issn      = {0304-3800},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2018.05.015},
  pages     = {80 -- 90},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {Non-consumptive effects of predators within ecosystems can alter the behavior of individual prey species, and have cascading effects on other trophic levels. In this context, an understanding of non-consumptive predator effects on the whole prey community is crucial for predicting community structure and composition, hence biodiversity patterns. We used an individual-based, spatially-explicit modelling approach to investigate the consequences of landscapes of fear on prey community metrics. The model spans multiple hierarchical levels from individual home range formation based on food availability and perceived predation risk to consequences on prey community structure and composition. This mechanistic approach allowed us to explore how important factors such as refuge availability and foraging strategy under fear affect prey community metrics. Fear of predators affected prey space use, such as home range formation. These adaptations had broader consequences for the community leading to changes in community structure and composition. The strength of community responses to perceived predation risk was driven by refuge availability in the landscape and the foraging strategy of prey animals. Low refuge availability in the landscape strongly decreased diversity and total biomass of prey communities. Additionally, body mass distributions in prey communities facing high predation risk were shifted towards small prey animals. With increasing refuge availability the consequences of non-consumptive predator effects were reduced, diversity and total biomass of the prey community increased. Prey foraging strategies affected community composition. Under medium refuge availability, risk-averse prey communities consisted of many small animals while risk-taking prey communities showed a more even body mass distribution. Our findings reveal that non-consumptive predator effects can have important implications for prey community diversity and should therefore be considered in the context of conservation and nature management.},
  language  = {en}
}