Migratory waterbirds act as dispersal vectors for a broad variety of organisms that have no or limited means of active dispersal. Co-dispersal by waterbirds is a major process influencing the biogeography, population genetics and metacommunities of a broad range of plants, invertebrates and microbes. Further research on these processes is urgently needed, to understand how birds can allow plants to migrate fast enough to keep pace with climate change, and how alien plants are spreading via waterbirds. This project focuses on co-dispersal processes using model waterbird vectors in different biomes affected by global change. We focus on waterbirds whose movements are well understood. We consider the role of waterbirds in enabling colonization and range expansion by native and alien plants in response to climate change. The main objectives of my thesis are: 1) to identify native and alien plant and invertebrates taxa dispersed by migratory Anatidae waterbirds and quantify the potential for long-distance dispersal, 2) to identify plant traits that increase the ability of native and alien plant species to disperse by endozoochory and to survive gut passage through waterbirds and 3) to identify native and alien plant and invertebrate taxa dispersed by fish-eating waterbirds and quantify the importance of alien fish in this secondary dispersal process. We will work with different vector models, mainly with bird populations of Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and Greylag Goose (Anser anser) in different regions of Europe.