Collaborative Research: An Experimental Study of Fire Ecology in Relation to the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker: Linkages Among Population, Community, and Ecosystem Processes

拟议的研究的目的是开发一种新的方法，在保护生物学的基础研究-物种为中心的环境分析-并将其应用到濒危的红冠啄木鸟的种群动态与其环境的广泛研究。 美国农业部林务局已同意在佛罗里达的阿巴拉契科拉国家森林的长叶松林中进行一项为期5年的实验性规定燃烧计划，在60个管理隔间中，我们将能够监测鸟类和地面植被。 在24个隔间的子集中，我们将监测松树的节肢动物区系和营养物质在系统中的运动。 在24个隔室中的12个隔室中，我们将进行营养物富集实验，其中处理将包括补充钙和补充磷和氮。 主要的问题是：（1）营养物质在这个生态系统中的运动是否受到季节和规定的火灾频率的影响;（2）这种运动是否影响啄木鸟的主要饮食--树栖节肢动物的营养质量。 这个项目是生态系统管理的一个例子-试验性地应用管理备选办法，使人口和生态系统生态学的基础研究结果能够用于选择未来的管理备选办法。

The objective of the proposed research is to develop a new approach to basic research in conservation biology--Species-Centered Environmental Analysis--and to apply it to an extensive study of the population dynamics of the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker in relation to its environment. The USDA Forest service has agreed to conduct an experimental 5-year prescribed-burning program in the longleaf pine forests of the Apalachicola National Forest in Florida in 60 management compartments where we will be able to monitor the birds and the ground cover vegetation. In a subset of 24 compartments, we will monitor the arthropod fauna of the pine trees and the movement of nutrients through the system. In 12 of the 24 compartments we will conduct a nutrient enrichment experiment in which treatments will include supplemental calcium with and without supplemental phosphorus and nitrogen. The major questions being asked are (1) Is the movement of nutrients through this ecosystem affected by the season and frequency of prescribed fire; and (2) Does this movement affect the nutritional quality of arboreal arthropods, the main diet of the woodpeckers. This project is an example of ecosystem management--the experimental application of management alternatives that allows the results of basic research in population and ecosystem ecology to be used to select among future management options.