LTREB: A Long-term Study of an Amphibian Assemblage at the Landscape Scale

9727014 Werner：大多数生态学研究都是在短时间的小空间尺度上进行的，而且越来越明显的是，当我们“扩大规模”时，我们对影响生态群落的过程几乎没有认识。这个项目试图用两栖动物作为模型系统来提供对这种现象的理解。这项研究将继续对密歇根大学E.S.乔治保护区37个池塘中14种两栖动物的分布进行长期数据系列研究。该数据系列在涉及的时间跨度、池塘数量和要取样的物种数量方面是独一无二的。具体而言，本研究将在未来5年内继续收集37个池塘的存在/缺失数据，2)收集池塘中所有两栖动物及其捕食者种群密度的定量数据，3)量化调查池塘的栖息地特征。这些数据将被仔细存档，并在万维网上提供。这些数据将使研究人员能够在景观尺度上解决问题，并可用于环境变化的长期评估。考虑到两栖动物可能在全球范围内减少，以及在北美东部和中西部地区报告的普遍畸形，这一点尤为重要。

9727014 Werner Most ecological studies are conducted on small spatial scales for short periods of time, and it is becoming increasingly apparent that we have little appreciation of the processes that influence ecological communities as we "scale-up." This project is an attempt to provide an understanding of such phenomena using amphibians as a model system. The research will continue a long-term data series on the distribution of 14 species of amphibians across 37 ponds on the University of Michigan's E.S. George Reserve. The data series is unique in the time span involved, the number of ponds, and the number of species to be sampled. Specifically, this study will: 1) continue collection of the presence/absence data on 37 ponds for the next 5 years, 2) collect quantitative data on population densities of all amphibian species and their predators in these ponds, and 3) quantify habitat characteristics of the ponds surveyed. The data will be carefully archived and made available over the world wide web. These data will enable the investigators to address questions at the landscape scale and will be available for long-term assessments of environmental change. This is particularly important in light of the possible global decline of amphibians and the widespread teratologies reported in eastern and mid-western North American anuran populations.