Trading off Predator- and Competitor-Induced Responses in Larval Anurans

无尾目幼虫中捕食者和竞争者引起的反应的权衡

• 批准号: 9903761
• 负责人: Raymond Semlitsch
• 金额: $ 14.26万
• 依托单位: University of Missouri-Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1999
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1999-07-15 至 2002-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9903761&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Trading; off; Predator; Competitor; Induced

DEB-9903761Trading off predator- and competitor-induced responses in larval anuransRaymond D. Semlitsch and Rick A. RelyeaDivision of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211PROJECT ABSTRACT This project focuses on an apparent tradeoff between competitive ability and predation resistance in animal populations. The research seeks to understand how this tradeoff may have shaped the variability in behavior and morphology seen among natural populations and the ecological consequences of such changes on the community. The first objective is to examine how larval anurans respond to varying predator and competitor densities using experimental ponds. The second goal is to determine whether predator-induced phenotypes are better at resisting predation but have low competitive ability while competitor-induced phenotypes are have high competitive ability but are poor at resisting predation. The third goal is to quantify the genetic variation that underlies the production of predator- and competitor-phenotypes. The final goal is to examine the ecological consequences of predator- and competitor-induced variation by determining whether changes in behavior and morphology in one species can affect the performance of other species. The results of this research will illustrate how predators and competitors not only alter the phenotypes and performance of other individuals in a population, but also how they impact community structure. Explaining the regulation of community structure is a primary goal in ecology and is critical to understanding species diversity. This research is important because it can reveal the underlying processes leading to the level and distribution of species diversity, and hence direct conservation efforts towards underlying natural processes that can maintain rich ecosystems for future generations.

DEB-9903761平衡捕食者和竞争者诱导的无尾类幼虫反应Raymond D. Semlitsch和Rick A.密苏里州大学生物科学系，哥伦比亚，MO 65211项目摘要该项目的重点是在动物种群的竞争能力和捕食抗性之间的明显权衡。 该研究旨在了解这种权衡如何塑造自然种群中的行为和形态变化，以及这种变化对社区的生态后果。第一个目标是研究如何幼虫无尾两栖类响应不同的捕食者和竞争对手的密度使用实验池塘。 第二个目标是确定捕食者诱导的表型是否具有更好的抵抗捕食但具有低竞争能力，而竞争者诱导的表型具有高竞争能力但抵抗捕食能力差。 第三个目标是量化的遗传变异的基础上生产的捕食者和竞争者的表型。最终目标是通过确定一个物种的行为和形态变化是否会影响其他物种的表现来研究捕食者和竞争者引起的变化的生态后果。这项研究的结果将说明捕食者和竞争者不仅改变了种群中其他个体的表型和表现，而且还影响了群落结构。解释群落结构的调节是生态学的主要目标，对理解物种多样性至关重要。这项研究很重要，因为它可以揭示导致物种多样性水平和分布的基本过程，从而指导保护工作，使其能够为子孙后代保持丰富的生态系统。