I am curious about the processes that govern the structure and dynamics of ecological communities under different facets of environmental change (e.g., increasing mean temperatures, changing frequency of environmental fluctuations). My aim is to improve the applicability of existing theory by developing the required theoretical tools and concepts and, when possible, testing the theory with data.

We know that the number of competing species that coexist in natural communities can far exceeds the number of limiting resources. From a static viewpoint (i.e., equilibrium), this would appear paradoxical. However, the inclusion of more complex dynamics (e.g., trade-offs, adaptation, fluctuating environments) can provide the room for different coexistence mechanism to develop, which can support such diversity. Currently, I am investigating whether and how fluctuations in resource availability can increase the number of coexisting species. Ideally, we will be able to develop an experimental system to testing the theory.

Peer-reviewed articles:

Álvarez-Codesal, S., Faillace, C. A., Garreau, A., Bestion, E., Synodinos, A. D. and Montoya, J. M. 2023. Thermal mismatches explain consumer–resource dynamics in response to environmental warming. - Ecol. Evol. 13: e10179.
Synodinos, A. D., Karnatak, R., Aguilar-Trigueros, C. A., Gras, P., Heger, T., Ionescu, D., Maaß, S., Musseau, C. L., Onandia, G., Planillo, A., Weiss, L., Wollrab, S. and Ryo, M. 2022. The rate of environmental change as an important driver across scales in ecology. - Oikos: e09616.
Synodinos, A.D., Haegeman, B., Sentis, A., Montoya, J.M., 2021. Theory of temperature-dependent consumer-resource interactions. Ecology Letters 24, 1539-155. https://doi: 10.1111/ele.13780
Heger, T., Aguilar-Trigueros, C.A., Bartram, I., Braga, R.R., Dietl, G.P., Enders, M., Gibson, D.J., Gómez-Aparicio, L., Gras, P., Jax, K., Lokatis, S., J Lortie, C.J., Mupepele, A.C., Schindler, S., Starrfelt, J., Synodinos, A.D., Jeschke, J.M, 2021. The Hierarchy-of-Hypotheses Approach: A Synthesis Method for Enhancing Theory Development in Ecology and Evolution - BioScience Volume 71, Issue 4, April 2021, Pages 337–349, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaa130
Synodinos, A.D., Tietjen, B., Lohmann, D., Jeltsch, F., 2018. The impact of inter-annual rainfall variability on African savannas changes with mean rainfall. Journal of Theoretical Biology 437, 92–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2017.10.019
Synodinos, A.D., Eldridge, D., Geißler, K., Jeltsch, F., Lohmann, D., Midgley, G., Blaum, N., 2018. Remotely sensed canopy height reveals three pantropical ecosystem states: a comment. Ecology 99, 231–234. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.1997
Synodinos, A.D., Tietjen, B., Jeltsch, F., 2015. Facilitation in drylands: Modeling a neglected driver of savanna dynamics. Ecological Modelling 304,11-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.02.015
Sherratt, J.A., Synodinos, A.D., 2012. Vegetation patterns and desertification waves in semi-arid environments: Mathematical models based on local facilitation in plants. Discrete and Continuous Dynamical Systems - Series B 17, 2815–2827. https://doi.org/10.3934/dcdsb.2012.17.2815

Non-peer-reviewed articles:

Synodinos, A. D., Sentis, A., Montoya, J. M. and Haegeman, B. 2023. The effects of warming on the stability of consumer-resource interactions. - bioRxiv: 2023.09.27.559670.