Herbivore Interactions in Heterogeneous Environments -- Role of Context-Dependency and Functional Redundancy

科罗拉多州立大学DEB-9806504生态学家越来越多地认识到，物种相互作用的性质可能会因它们发生的环境背景而异。这个项目将测试这样一个概念，即溪流群落中食草动物的行为以及它们与自养生物的相互作用将随着环境条件的变化而变化。它将研究河流中的这种现象，因为一个关键的环境特征，即水流速度，以一种可量化的方式明显变化。食草动物和生产者之间的相互作用将在一系列当前条件下进行评估。实验将在溪边水道和河流情况下进行，在这些情况下，可以操纵当前的条件和草食动物的密度，并可以评估自养生物的反应。该项目的成果将在不同的生态系统中得到普遍应用。它将利用可量化不同环境特征并将其纳入生态系统功能评估的情况，提供对一系列情况下的上下文依赖性的评估的见解。

N. LeRoy PoffColorado State UniversityDEB - 9806504Ecologists are increasingly recognizing that the nature of species interactions may vary depending upon the environmental context in which they occur. This project would test the notion that the behavior of herbivores in stream communities and their interactions with autotrophic organisms will vary as environmental conditions change. It will examine this phenomenon in streams as a key environmental feature , current velocity, varies distinctly in a quantifiable manner. Interactions between herbivores and producers will be evaluated under a range of current conditions. Experiments will be conducted in streamside channels and in instream situations where current conditions and the density of herbivores can be manipulated and responses by autotrophs can be evaluated. Results from this project will have general applications to diverse ecological systems. It will provide insights into the evaluation of context dependency in an array of situations taking advantage of a situation where distinct environmental features can be quantified and incorporated into assessments of the functioning of an ecosystem.