globalchange  > 影响、适应和脆弱性
项目编号: 1353827
项目名称:
What Stabilizes Population Dynamics in Nature? A New Framework for Quantifying the in situ Strength and Nonlinearity of Species Interactions
作者: Mark Novak
承担单位: Oregon State University
批准年: 2013
开始日期: 2014-06-01
结束日期: 2018-05-31
资助金额: USD490000
资助来源: US-NSF
项目类别: Standard Grant
国家: US
语种: 英语
特色学科分类: Biological Sciences - Environmental Biology
英文关键词: species ; predator-prey interaction ; predator-prey ; species-rich ; nature ; dynamics ; species population ; few prey species ; transformative new way ; new method ; species-rich community ; species-rich system ; species interaction ; interaction nonlinearity ; species response ; cyclic population fluctuation ; other species ; specialist predator species ; new class
英文摘要: A fundamental question in ecology is how interactions among species (e.g. predator-prey) cause some species to exhibit cyclic population fluctuations over time while for other species they do not. An understanding of these mechanisms is necessary in order to forecast how species and their ecosystems will respond to environmental perturbations, including habitat loss and climate change. This research project will develop new methods and statistical analyses that will be applied to stream communities of the Pacific Northwest. The investigators will test hypotheses regarding when species populations will cycle in abundance. Current theory can explain only the most simplistic case of specialist predator species that feed on only one or a few prey species. However, most species in nature are generalists embedded in complex networks of species interactions. This limitation is widely acknowledged as a significant problem in the development of resource management and conservation practices. This work promises to advance general ecological theory and resolve a long standing puzzle concerning stability of predator-prey interactions in nature. Results of this project will improve our ability to forecast species responses to environmental disturbances, which is important in wildlife management and conservation. This project also will support the mentoring, and research training of undergraduate and graduate students, and a postdoctoral researcher. Broader involvement with Oregon's local communities will be achieved through an extensive collaboration with Oregon State University's elementary school partnership program, which provides science and math enrichment for elementary school students and professional development for their teachers in order to increase the number of underrepresented and educationally underserved students that go on to pursue careers in science, math, health, engineering, and education.

This research will develop a new class of observational methods for estimating the strength of predator-prey interactions in species-rich systems. Observational and experimental implementations of the approach in stream communities of the Andrews Experimental Forest Long Term Ecological Research site will be used to quantitatively compare the degree to which prey-dependent, consumer-dependent and adaptive-foraging processes contribute to empirical levels of interaction nonlinearity. Empirically-derived insights will be integrated into abstracted mathematical models to develop general theory regarding the dynamics of specialist and generalist consumers. This research promises significant advances in our conceptual and applied understanding of the mechanisms by which predator-prey interactions regulate the dynamics of species-rich communities. The novel simplicity and broad applicability of the observational approach to be developed here promises a transformative new way to bridge mathematical theory and empirical data.
资源类型: 项目
标识符: http://119.78.100.158/handle/2HF3EXSE/96877
Appears in Collections:影响、适应和脆弱性
气候减缓与适应

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Recommended Citation:
Mark Novak. What Stabilizes Population Dynamics in Nature? A New Framework for Quantifying the in situ Strength and Nonlinearity of Species Interactions. 2013-01-01.
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