ROA: Effects of Competition, Predation and the Physical Environment on Recruitment of Young Fishes and Shrimp in an Estuarine Nursery

这项研究的重点是控制种群动态的因素，特别是新个体的招募，在美国东南部沿海河口的鱼和虾种群。这项工作将使用观测和实验方法来研究密度依赖、物种间相互作用(即竞争和捕食)以及物理环境因素(即风暴、潮汐周期和微生境可用性)对引入幼鱼和虾的相对重要性。这项研究将提供关于繁殖周期在确保招聘成功方面的有效性的见解，并将检验一些关于限制河口动物数量的因素的普遍假设。

The focus of this research is on the factors that control the population dynamics, specifically the recruitment of new individuals, of fish and shrimp populations in coastal estuaries of the southeastern United States. The work will use observational and experimental approaches to examine the relative importance of density-dependence, interspecies interactions (i.e., competition and predation and physical environmental factors (i.e., storms, tidal cycles and microhabitat availability) to the introduction of young fishes and shrimp. The research will provide insights into the effectiveness of the reproductive periodicity in ensuring recruitment success and will test some commonly-held assumptions about the factors that limit estuarine animal populations.