Ontogenetic Changes in Trophic and Competitive Relationshipsand their Control of the Development of Benthic Communities

底栖生物蜕变和定居之后的时间对它们成为现有群落的一部分的能力至关重要。由于它们的体型小，形态简单，幼鱼能与更广泛的物种进行更激烈的互动。此外，物种之间的生态关系在生活史阶段之间会发生巨大的变化，这些研究的重要性将集中在新英格兰南部沿海潮下海洋地外群落中7种优势物种的定居和幼年阶段。所选择的研究地点在幼虫定居方面表现出极大的差异（1至2个数量级），每个地点都有不同的优势种群。将进行实验，以测试从捕食到招募的过程，即幼虫定居的差异，并检查关系如何随着生命阶段而变化。在幼鱼生活史阶段发生的任何事件的重要性将根据幼虫定居期间和成虫群落内发生的现象来判断。

The time immediately following the metamorphosis and settlement of benthic organisms is critical to their ability to become part of the existing community. Because of their small size and simpler morphology, juveniles endure more intense interactions with a wider spectrum of species. In addition, tremendous changes in the ecological relationships between species can occur between life-history stages and the importance of these study will focus on the settling and juvenile stages of 7 dominant species within subtidal marine epifaunal communities along the coast of southern New England. The study sites chosen exhibit extreme (1 to 2 orders of Magnitude) differences in larval settlement, and each has a distinct group of dominant species. Experiments will be conducted to test processes that predation to recruitment, i.e. differences in larval settlement and examine how relationships change with life-stage. The importance of any event occurring during juvenile life-history stages will be judged relative to phenomena occurring during larval settlement and within the adult community.