Reference number : GC-2017-Q1-02319, amendment number : , agreement type : G, recipient legal name : Hussey, Nigel (University of Windsor), recipient country : CA, recipient province : nan, recipient city : Ontario, recipient postal code : nan, program name english : Discovery Grants Program - Individual, program name french : Programme de subventions à la découverte - individuelles, program purpose english : The WHY of the WHERE and WHEN species are distributed on Earth is a central question in ecology. While multiple factors such as available habitat and evolutionary origin are considered to drive species distributions in our oceans, environment is considered a primary force. Environment not only regulates the occurrence of animals in habitats/at latitudes, but it also drives species interactions that structure food webs from micro- to macro-scales. The interaction of a species with abiotic (environment = habitat) and biotic (prey = diet) factors is termed the niche. In an era of rapid climatic shift - the Anthropocene - understanding how environmental variation moulds the niche of species will help to predict its effects on the stability and resilience of global food webs. While spatial distribution patterns of species are well known, such as increasing species biodiversity from high to low latitudes (the Latitudinal Diversity Gradient; LDG), the underlying causes of these patterns have received little attention in our oceans. The Latitudinal Niche Breadth Hypothesis (LNB), a famous theory proposed to account for LDG, states that smaller niches and greater species diversity will occur at the equator as compared to the poles because of increased environmental stability. I will examine the influence of environmental context on species niche at the poles, equator and along the polar-equatorial latitudinal gradient through testing the LNB hypothesis in our oceans. I will do this through: i) Establishing the relationship between niche size of species from known feeding groups (Trophic Levels; TL) at latitudinal extremes (pole and equator); ii) Testing causal links between established patterns of niche size and environmental variation at the pole and equator; iii) Adopting a macroecological approach to examine niche size patterns and environmental causal links across a continuous polar-to-equator latitudinal gradient; and iv) Testing if the trends fit expectations of the LNB hypotheses in the marine environment. My aim is to advance understanding of the impact of ongoing climate shifts on global ecosystems for sustainable resource management., program purpose french : The WHY of the WHERE and WHEN species are distributed on Earth is a central question in ecology. While multiple factors such as available habitat and evolutionary origin are considered to drive species distributions in our oceans, environment is considered a primary force. Environment not only regulates the occurrence of animals in habitats/at latitudes, but it also drives species interactions that structure food webs from micro- to macro-scales. The interaction of a species with abiotic (environment = habitat) and biotic (prey = diet) factors is termed the niche. In an era of rapid climatic shift - the Anthropocene - understanding how environmental variation moulds the niche of species will help to predict its effects on the stability and resilience of global food webs. While spatial distribution patterns of species are well known, such as increasing species biodiversity from high to low latitudes (the Latitudinal Diversity Gradient; LDG), the underlying causes of these patterns have received little attention in our oceans. The Latitudinal Niche Breadth Hypothesis (LNB), a famous theory proposed to account for LDG, states that smaller niches and greater species diversity will occur at the equator as compared to the poles because of increased environmental stability. I will examine the influence of environmental context on species niche at the poles, equator and along the polar-equatorial latitudinal gradient through testing the LNB hypothesis in our oceans. I will do this through: i) Establishing the relationship between niche size of species from known feeding groups (Trophic Levels; TL) at latitudinal extremes (pole and equator); ii) Testing causal links between established patterns of niche size and environmental variation at the pole and equator; iii) Adopting a macroecological approach to examine niche size patterns and environmental causal links across a continuous polar-to-equator latitudinal gradient; and iv) Testing if the trends fit expectations of the LNB hypotheses in the marine environment. My aim is to advance understanding of the impact of ongoing climate shifts on global ecosystems for sustainable resource management., agreement title english : Global patterns and processes of organismal niche in the marine environment, agreement title french : Global patterns and processes of organismal niche in the marine environment, agreement number : RGPIN, agreement value : 140000.0, agreement start date : 2017-05-10, agreement end date : nan, description english : nan, description french : nan, expected results english : nan, expected results french : nan, additional information english : Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year. (2017-2018 to 2022-2023), additional information french : Subvention ou bourse octroyée s'appliquant à plus d'un exercice financier. (2017-2018 à 2022-2023), owner organization : nserc-crsng, owner organization title : Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada | Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada