Line Wermeille
Master in Biology
line.wermeille@unine.ch
Research area
My project involves studying the indirect effects of the presence of predators on herbivores and the final link in the food chain: plants. Predators have the ability to modulate herbivore behavior, which in turn impacts plant communities. These changes can include, for example, a shift in herbivore diet: a grasshopper may switch from one plant species to another, thereby reducing herbivory on the first species while increasing it on the second. The mechanisms by which the presence of predators affects plant communities via herbivores are poorly documented. My master’s thesis aims to expand our understanding of this topic.
My experimental system includes hunting and web-building spiders as predators, as well as a species of grasshopper (Decticus verrucivorus); high-altitude locusts as herbivores; and three species of alpine plants.
Main themes
- Tri-trophic interactions
- Alpine ecosystems
- Climate change
