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

9509312科尔 在整个北美西部，收获蚁（Pogonomyrmex occurentalis）是占优势的动物物种之一，也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调节的。两种可能的机制影响人口密度：新兵的可用性和食物的可用性和殖民地的空间。 这两者不一定相互排斥。 食物和空间的供应以及招募的人数都将通过实验加以调整，以衡量对人口密度的影响。 关于种群密度和群体分布的调节的实验研究将与补充模式的时间和空间变化的测量相结合，以便将对当地进程的理解扩大到大的地理范围。 Pogonomyrmex occurentalis是一个脆弱的生态系统中的种子的主要传播者受到多种用途。 通过确定在这个重要的物种的人口规模和分布的因素，这项研究可能阐明的机制，管理范围的质量和栖息地的保护。

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.