CAREEER: Diversity and Trophic Structure in a Grassland Community: Integrating Research and Education in a Pluralistic Program

9734343这项建议概述了一个研究、教学和培训的综合计划，旨在促进基础生物学和生态学的交叉和多学科方法。研究部分填补了生物多样性/生态系统功能研究的一个重要空白。拟议的工作是对营养结构变化与植物多样性之间的相互作用及其对植物、动物和微生物之间的基本生态系统过程的影响进行长期、多营养水平的调查。研究系统是雪松溪自然历史区LTER遗址。教育部分打破了传统的学科界限，把重点放在生物群和生物地球化学之间的界面上，而不是细胞到生态系统的层次上。对学生的培训将通过让本科生参与实践研究机会来进行。对于有一定生物学背景和研究经验的学生，进一步的培训将包括假设检验、统计方法、伦理学和同行评议。总体而言，该项目将为长期致力于发展生态学研究和教育中的多元化和综合方法的学术生涯奠定基础。

9734343 Naeem This proposal outlines an integrated program of research, teaching, and training designed to promote cross-cutting and multidisciplinary approaches in basic biology and ecology. The research component fills an important gap in biodiversity/ecosystem functioning studies. The proposed work is a long-term, multi-trophic level investigation of the interaction between variation in trophic structure and plant diversity, and its impacts on fundamental ecosystem processes among plants, animals and microbes. The study system is the Cedar Creek Natural History Area LTER site. The educational component breaks traditional disciplinary boundaries by focusing on interfaces between biota and biogeochemistry, rather than the cell to ecosystem hierarchy. Training of students will occur by involving undergraduates in hands-on research opportunities. For students with some biological background and research experience, further training will include hypothesis testing, statistical approaches, ethics, and peer review. Collectively, this project will provide a foundation for a long-term academic career devoted to the development of pluralistic and synthetic approaches in ecological research and education.