RPGW: Incorporating Structural Response into the Prediction of Disturbance of a Competitive Dominant on Wave-Swept Rocky Shores

自然干扰通过改变资源、基质可用性或物理环境，在生态系统的结构中起着根本性的作用。由于干扰的影响是典型的异质性和斑块，非平衡状态在大多数生态系统中占主导地位。岩石潮间带已被证明是一个很好的模式系统，探索如何干扰和斑块动态影响非平衡生态系统。这部分是由于这样一个事实，即在岩石潮间带的扰动通常是由一个单一的物理因素，破碎波产生的水动力。 最近，生物力学的方法已经开发出来，预测物理干扰的岩石海岸作为一个功能的时间和“波度”的海洋近海。 这种机械方法的初步测试是有希望的，这表明这种方法可以是一个有价值的工具，了解生态后果的季节性和年复一年的变化波曝光。 生物力学方法中的一个关键参数是生物体相对于其遇到的水动力的强度。 有许多研究表明，生物体承受波浪作用的能力会随着水流环境的变化而改变。 为了准确地预测变化环境中的扰动率，必须考虑到这种修改。 这项研究将提供一个详细的了解的力学，使这个物种占主导地位的波扫海岸，并将提高我们的能力，预测这种生态上重要的物种的干扰率。 此外，这项研究允许预测贻贝的定量反应，任何未来的变化，在波气候。鉴于目前的证据表明，在不久的将来，波浪暴露的增加可能是常见的，这些估计可能会形成一个有价值的测试，我们的能力，预测气候变化的生态后果。

Natural disturbances play a fundamental role in the structuring of ecosystems by altering resources, substrate availability, or the physical environment. Because the effects of disturbance are typically heterogeneous and patchy, non equilibrium states prevail in most ecosystems. The rocky intertidal zone has proven to be an excellent model system for the exploration of how disturbance and patch dynamics influence non equilibrium ecosystems. This is in part due to the fact that disturbance in the rocky intertidal is typically dominated by a single physical factor, the hydrodynamic forces generated by breaking waves. Recently, a biomechanical approach has been developed that predicts physical disturbance on rocky shores as a function of time and the `waviness` of the sea offshore. Preliminary tests of this mechanistic approach are promising, suggesting that such an approach can be a valuable tool for understanding the ecological consequences of seasonal and year to year variability in wave exposure. A critical parameter in the biomechanical approach is the strength of an organism relative to the hydrodynamic forces it encounters. There are numerous studies indicating that the ability of an organism to withstand wave action is modified in response to the flow environment. Such modifications must be taken into account in order to accurately predict rates of disturbance in changing environments. This study will provide a detailed understanding of the mechanics which allows this species to dominate wave swept shores, and will enhance our ability to predict the rate of disturbance of this ecologically important species. Furthermore, this study allows for the prediction of the quantitative response of mussels to any future shifts in wave climate. Given current evidence that increases in wave exposure may be common in the near future, these estimations are likely to form a valuable test of our ability to predict the ecological consequences of climate change.