@article{PalmvanSchaikSchroederEsselbach2013,
  author    = {Palm, Juliane and van Schaik, N. Loes M. B. and Schr{\"o}der-Esselbach, Boris},
  title     = {Modelling distribution patterns of anecic, epigeic and endogeic earthworms at catchment-scale in agro-ecosystems},
  series = {Pedobiologia : international journal of soil biology},
  volume    = {56},
  journal   = {Pedobiologia : international journal of soil biology},
  number    = {1},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {Jena},
  issn      = {0031-4056},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.pedobi.2012.08.007},
  pages     = {23 -- 31},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {Species distribution models are useful for identifying driving environmental factors that determine earthworm distributions as well as for predicting earthworm distribution patterns and abundances at different scales. However, due to large efforts in data acquisition, studies on larger scales are rare and often focus on single species or earthworms in general. In this study, we use boosted regression tree models (BRTs) for predicting the distribution of the three functional earthworm types, i.e. anecics, endogeics and epigeics, in an agricultural area in Baden-Wurttemberg (Southwest Germany). First, we predicted presence and absence and later earthworm abundances, considering predictors depicting land management, topography, and soil conditions as well as biotic interaction by using the abundance of the other functional earthworm types. The final presence-absence models performed reasonably well, with explained deviances between 24 and 51\% after crossvalidation. Models for abundances of anecics and endogeics were less successful, since the high small-scale variability and patchiness in earthworm abundance influenced the representativeness of the field measurements. This resulted in a significant model uncertainty, which is practically very difficult to overcome with earthworm sampling campaigns at the catchment scale. Results showed that management practices (i.e. disturbances), topography, soil conditions, and biotic interactions with other earthworm groups are the most relevant predictors for spatial distribution (incidence) patterns of all three functional groups. The response curves and contributions of predictors differ for the three functional earthworm types. Epigeics are also controlled by topographic features, endogeics by soil parameters.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KoussoroplisWacker2016,
  author    = {Koussoroplis, Apostolos-Manuel and Wacker, Alexander},
  title     = {Covariance modulates the effect of joint temperature and food variance on ectotherm life-history traits},
  series = {Ecology letters},
  volume    = {19},
  journal   = {Ecology letters},
  publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell},
  address   = {Hoboken},
  issn      = {1461-023X},
  doi       = {10.1111/ele.12546},
  pages     = {143 -- 152},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {Understanding animal performance in heterogeneous or variable environments is a central question in ecology. We combine modelling and experiments to test how temperature and food availability variance jointly affect life-history traits of ectotherms. The model predicts that as mean temperatures move away from the ectotherm's thermal optimum, the effect size of joint thermal and food variance should become increasingly sensitive to their covariance. Below the thermal optimum, performance should be positively correlated with food-temperature covariance and the opposite is predicted above it. At lower temperatures, covariance should determine whether food and temperature variance increases or decreases performance compared to constant conditions. Somewhat stronger than predicted, the covariance effect below the thermal optimum was confirmed experimentally on an aquatic ectotherm (Daphnia magna) exposed to diurnal food and temperature variance with different amounts of covariance. Our findings have important implications for understanding ectotherm responses to climate-driven alterations of thermal mean and variance.},
  language  = {en}
}