Interspecific Competition and Extinction-Prone Species

种间竞争和易灭绝物种

• 批准号: 9314081
• 负责人: Robert Jaeger
• 金额: $ 8.1万
• 依托单位: University of Louisiana at Lafayette
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1994
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1994-07-01 至 1997-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9314081&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Interspecific; Competition; Extinction; Prone; Species

A recurrent theme in community ecology is that interspecific competition greatly influences the distributions and abundances of vertebrate species in communities, and that such competition can lead to extinctions of populations. Terrestrial salamanders have been extensively studies to test theories about competition, and interspecific competition appears to be intense among many species. In eastern North America, widely distributed and abundant species appear to be strong competitors. Weaker competitors appear to have limited distributions and many such species are listed as threatened or endangered. This research will examine the possibility of competitive interactions (particularly interspecific territoriality) between seven species pairs of terrestrial salamanders. Experiments in natural habitats will test hypotheses about intra- and interspecific competition for space, and competitive release experiments will test hypotheses concerning the intensity of competition. Laboratory experiments will test hypotheses about intra- and interspecific combat tactics during aggressive encounters, pheromonal communication, and capturing of food resources. %%% In the eastern US, one widely distributed species interfaces with three geographically isolated species. The three isolated species are considered to be extinction prone as a consequence of severe interspecific competition for territories from the widely distributed species. This research will provide valuable field and laboratory experiments that will provide vital evidence regarding factors leading to the frequently observed population decline of amphibians, in general, and several species a salamanders, in particular.

群落生态学中反复出现的一个主题是，种间竞争极大地影响群落中脊椎动物物种的分布和丰度，并且这种竞争可能导致种群灭绝。陆生蝾螈已被广泛研究以检验有关竞争的理论，并且许多物种之间的种间竞争似乎很激烈。在北美东部，分布广泛且丰富的物种似乎是强有力的竞争者。较弱的竞争对手似乎分布有限，许多此类物种被列为受威胁或濒危物种。这项研究将探讨七对陆生蝾螈之间竞争性相互作用（特别是种间领地性）的可能性。自然栖息地的实验将检验有关种内和种间空间竞争的假设，而竞争性释放实验将检验有关竞争强度的假设。实验室实验将检验有关侵略性遭遇、信息素交流和捕获食物资源期间的种内和种间战斗策略的假设。 %%% 在美国东部，一种广泛分布的物种与三种地理上孤立的物种交界。由于广泛分布的物种对领地的激烈种间竞争，这三个孤立的物种被认为容易灭绝。这项研究将提供有价值的现场和实验室实验，为导致经常观察到的两栖动物，特别是蝾螈等几种物种种群数量下降的因素提供重要证据。