Dissertation Research: Critical Tests of Invasive Species Effects: Impacts of the Exotic Honey Bee on Native Plant-Pollinator Interactions

外来入侵物种的生态学是应用生态学家和理论生态学家共同关注的重要课题。然而，很少有研究使用可靠的实验设计来检验这个问题。这项研究将调查入侵的欧洲蜜蜂(意大利蜜蜂)对加州沿海地区本地传粉者和植物群落的影响。这项工作将调查和定量联系欧洲蜜蜂对本地传粉者熊蜂(Bombus Spp)这一重要群体的觅食行为和群体繁殖成功的影响。建议结合大规模的蜜蜂密度控制、资源可获得性和资源枯竭的测量、大黄蜂群体表现的监测和竞争效应的定量模拟来实现这一点。除了提供关于入侵物种对土著社区的影响的信息外，这项工作还将深入了解入侵物种如何以及为什么造成社区一级的影响，并将有助于更好地理解行为灵活的殖民地生物之间的竞争相互作用。

9902269DoakThe ecology of invasive exotic species is a very important topic and concern among both applied and theoretical ecologists. However, very few studies have examine this problem using a solid experimental design. This study will examine the impacts of the invasive European honeybee (Apies mellifera) on native pollinator and plant communities in coastal California. This work will investigate and quantitatively link the impacts of European bee on foraging behavior and colony reproductive success for an important group of native pollinators, the bumblebees (Bombus spp). This is proposed to be done by combinations of large-scale manipulations of bee densities, measurement of resource availability and depletion, monitoring of bumblebee colony performance and quantitative modeling of competitive effects. In addition to providing information on the impact of invasive species on native communities, this work will provide insight into how and why invasive species cause community-level effects and it will contribute to a greater understanding of competitive interactions among behaviorally flexible colonial organisms.