The Role of Recruitment Limitation and Resource Limitation in Spatial Dynamics of Pogonomyrmex Occidentalis

9509312 Cole在整个北美西部，收获蚁（Pogonomyrmex occidentalis）是优势动物物种之一；它是沙漠景观的重要组成部分。目前研究的目标是确定这些生物的密度和分布是如何被调节的。两个可能的机制影响人口密度：新兵的可用性和殖民地的食物和空间的可用性。这两者不一定是相互排斥的。食物和空间的可用性以及新兵的数量都将进行实验性修改，以衡量对人口密度的影响。种群密度和种群分布调节的实验研究将与招募模式的时空变化测量相结合，将对局部过程的理解扩展到更大的地理尺度。在一个易受多种用途影响的脆弱生态系统中，西药是种子的主要传播者。通过确定影响这一重要物种种群规模和分布的因素，本研究可能阐明影响范围质量和栖息地保护的机制。

9509312 Cole Throughout western North America the harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex occidentalis, is one of the dominant animal species; it is an important component of the desert landscape. The goal of the current research is to determine how the density and distribution of these organisms are regulated. Two possible mechanisms influence population density: the availability of recruits and the availability of food and space for the colonies. These two need not be mutually exclusive. Both the availability of food and space and the numbers of recruits will be experimentally modified to measure the effect on population density. The experimental studies on the regulation of population density and colony distribution will be combined with measurement of temporal and spatial variation in the patterns of recruitment to extend the understanding of local processes to large geographical scales. Pogonomyrmex occidentalis is the primary disperser of seeds in a fragile ecosystem subject to multiple uses. By determining the factors that govern the population size and distribution in this important species, this research may elucidate the mechanisms that govern range quality and habitat preservation.