Keila Stark (she/her)

Had lots of fun thinking about this with fearless leader @tessgrainger.bsky.social, and @clsong.com, Matt Barbour, @gerlame.bsky.social !

The Equilibrium Conundrum Although an assumption of equilibrium dynamics underlies most ecological theory, the evidence for this dynamic in nature and in empirical studies is scarce. This creates an unfortunate disconnect bet...

Most major theories in ecology assume some sort of equilibrium, but only ~half of empirical tests acknowledge it & even fewer observed it in their system. Does this matter? How did the idea become so pervasive in ecology anyway? Find out in our new paper! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Toward a More Dynamic Metabolic Theory of Ecology to Predict Climate Change Effects on Biological Systems | The American Naturalist Abstract The metabolic theory of ecology (MTE) aims to link biophysical constraints on individual metabolic rates to the emergence of patterns at the population and ecosystem scales. Because MTE links...

Special Feature available ahead of print! Stark et al. revisit assumptions in the metabolic theory of ecology that explains macroecological patterns in biological rates from individuals to ecosystems through fundamental constraints on metabolism. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

This is the paper I wished I had when starting grad school. I hope it helps clarify the theory's assumptions, its similarities and differences from other metabolic theories, and where it needs to go next for folks at all stages :) Feel free to DM for a copy!

In the paper we unpack classical MTE's assumptions, & explain how misapplying the theory in its original form can lead to blind spots in understanding temperature effects on ecological systems. We review recent theoretical & empirical advances that have overcome this, and identify open questions.

To link individual metabolism to population & ecosystem-scale processes, MTE invoked assumptions of steady state & static thermal response curve distributions. But perturbations from steady state & plastic/evolving thermal response curves are common in many systems, & will likely increase under CC

Metabolic theory of ecology was originally a macroecological theory, explaining variation in biological rates&states across taxonomic groups spanning orders of magnitude in body size. Its temperature predictions spurred interest in using it to answer global change Q's in single systems with dynamics

Thrilled to share our new paper in @asn-amnat.bsky.social "Toward a more dynamic metabolic theory of ecology for predicting climate change effects on biological systems" www.naturl.link/9jpy6M

It's one of several papers in an upcoming special feature "Demystifying Fundamental Theories in Ecology"