Dissertation Research: Omnivory in a Terrestrial Arthropod Assemblage: The Consequences for Stability

9411856 Kareiva对杂食动物(在一个以上营养水平上进食的动物)的研究落后于对更专门的喂食者的研究；还没有关于杂食动物在自然群落中的作用的实验研究。然而，杂食性动物在大多数自然群落中都很丰富。通过一系列现场操控实验，本项目试图确定杂食性动物对节肢动物群落的影响，根据捕食者物种的大小结构来表征杂食性动物的群落效应，并预测杂食性动物在稳定或破坏陆地生态系统中的作用。这项研究将提高我们对食物网动态和生态系统运行的基本理解。研究成果将在生态系统管理、生物保护区管理和生物多样性保护等方面得到应用。

9411856 Kareiva The study of ominvores (animals that feed at more than one trophic level) has lagged behind studies of more specialized feeders; there have been no experimental studies of the roles of omnivores in natural communities. Yet omnivores are abundant in most natural communities. Through a series of manipulative field experiements, this project attempts to determine how omnivory influences arthropod assemblages, characterize the community effects of omnivory based on size structure of predator species, and predict the role of omnivory in stabilizing or destabilizing terrestrial ecosystems. This research will improve our fundamental understanding of food web dynamics and the operation of ecosystems. The results will have application in ecosystem management, management of biological reserves, and conservation of biodiversity.