Special Starter Grant for Tenure-Track Position

这个项目将研究植物元素营养含量的潜力，特别是碳、氮、磷的比例(C：N：P)，以导致草食动物易受影响的生活阶段的生态瓶颈。这项研究旨在检验浮游植物的C：N：P含量对水生草食动物的预测生活史约束。具体地说，这项研究将解决以下问题：(1)桡足类不同生命阶段的不同营养成分是否会导致这些生物在整个生命周期内对C：N：P的不同需求，以及需要高磷含量的食物阶段是否会成为桡足动物种群发展的潜在瓶颈？以及(2)优于其他浮游类群的桡足类选择性摄食能否允许这些生物消耗高质量的食物颗粒，并缓解营养失衡？研究结果将广泛适用于生物地理意义上的(桡足类是非常国际化的，栖息在北极、温带和热带湖泊以及海洋中)，以及与其他生物(如昆虫)的生活史比较，对于这些生物，食物质量已被纳入最佳觅食模型。

Schulz00-00617This project will examine the potential of plant elemental nutrient content, specifically the ratios of Carbon to Nitrogen to Phosphorus (C:N:P) to cause ecological bottlenecks for susceptible life stages of herbivores. This study is designed to examine a predicted life history constraint posed by the C:N:P content of phytoplankton on aquatic herbivores. Specifically, the study will address the questions: (1) Do the differing nutritional contents of various copepod life stages result in different C:N:P requirements during the life spans of these organisms, and are stages requiring high phosphorus content food a potential bottleneck in the development of copepod populations?; and (2) Can selective feeding by copepods, superior to that of other planktonic taxa, allow these organisms to consume high quality food particles and mitigate nutrient imbalances? Results will be broadly applicable in a biogeographic sense (copepods are very cosmopolitan, inhabiting arctic, temperate, and tropical lakes, as well as oceans) and in a life history comparison with other organisms, such as insects, for which food quality has been incorporated into optimal foraging models.