Effects of Herbivory on a Grass: Population Processes, Landscape Patterns

有蹄类放牧对小蓝茎草（Schizachyrium scoparium）的影响将在几个层面上进行研究。草食对植物形态、适合度和动物偏好的影响将用于预测草食对东莨菪种群结构和调控的影响以及对东莨菪在景观中的分布的影响。这些预测将通过进一步的野外实验和通过在几个尺度上利用（并验证）现有的放牧强度的空间变化，调查整个景观中的现有东莨菪种群来验证。这项研究将有助于填补我们在植物/动物相互作用方面的重要空白：食草动物对植物适应性和植物种群的影响，以及这些水平上的过程如何决定重要牧场牧草的景观格局。

The effects of ungulate grazing on Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem grass) will be investigated at several levels. The effects of herbivory on plant morphology, fitness and animal preference will be used to predict the effects of herbivory on S. scoparium population structure and regulation and on the distribution of S. scoparium across the landscape. These predications will be tested by further field experiments and by surveying existing populations of S. scoparium across the landscape taking advantage of )and verifying) existing spatial variation in grazing intensity at several scales. This study will help fill important gaps in our knowledge of plant/animal interactions: the effects of herbivores on plant fitness and plant populations and how processes at these levels determine landscape patterns of important rangeland forage grass.