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

项目摘要：本项目主要研究动物种群中竞争能力和捕食抗性之间的权衡关系。这项研究试图了解这种权衡如何塑造了自然种群中行为和形态的变化，以及这种变化对群落的生态后果。第一个目标是利用实验池塘研究无尾目动物幼虫对不同捕食者和竞争对手密度的反应。第二个目标是确定捕食者诱导的表型是否具有较强的抗捕食能力但竞争能力较低，而竞争对手诱导的表型是否具有较高的竞争能力但抵抗捕食能力较差。第三个目标是量化导致捕食者和竞争者表型产生的遗传变异。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，来检查由捕食者和竞争者引起的变异的生态后果。这项研究的结果将说明捕食者和竞争对手如何不仅改变种群中其他个体的表型和表现，而且它们如何影响群落结构。解释群落结构的调控是生态学的主要目标，也是理解物种多样性的关键。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潜在过程，从而指导保护工作朝着潜在的自然过程发展，从而为子孙后代维持丰富的生态系统。

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.