I study how range dynamics are affected by abiotic and biotic factors from an ecological and evolutionary perspective. For this, I make use of protist communities with Tertrahymena thermophila as the focal species. As abiotic stress, I use a temperature gradient across which I intend to study the range expansion of Tetrahymena. As biotic interactors, I use Paramecium caudatum as a competitor, Blepharisma sp. as a predator, Euglena gracilis as a facilitator and Serratia fonticola as a food source for Tetrahymena. Apart from that, I am also interested in studying how niches evolve.