The ecology of ephemeral resource patches

Ephemeral resource patches (ERPs) – short lived resources including animal carrion, dung, temporary pools, rotting vegetation, decaying wood, and fungi – are found throughout every ecosystem. Their unique dynamics are apparent across all functional levels of biology – from the evolution of microbes inhabiting fungi, to the ecological dynamics of insect communities on the forest floor, to entire ecosystems supported by subsidies of plant and animal decomposition. In this talk, I will unite examples from the carrion ecology and forensic entomology literature to discuss how the spatiotemporal dynamics of ERPs can be conceptualised – in an effort to better understand their ecological impacts, their influence on evolutionary processes, and to inform how ERPs can be integrated into biodiversity management and conservation.