María Agulló Samper

Email: maria.agullosamper@helsinki.fi
ORCID: 0009-0007-1284-7005¨

Research Interests

  • Food web ecology
  • Ecological networks
  • Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning
  • Marine ecosystems

About

I am an ecologist interested in understanding how species interact with each other and how these interactions shape ecosystems.

I am particularly interested in ecological networks as a way to understand ecosystems as interconnected communities, and in developing modelling approaches to explore the consequences of changes in biodiversity and species interactions. My current research focuses on marine coastal ecosystems.

🪸 Foundation species and ecological networks

How do foundation species shape ecosystem structure? This project started with my master’s thesis, which showed that non-trophic interactions should not be overlooked when studying the ecological role of foundation species. This research will be further developed in my PhD, where I will investigate whether the co-occurrence of foundation species generates emergent effects on the structure, functioning, and resilience of marine ecosystems that cannot be predicted from single-foundation habitats.