Herbivory in Streams: Context-dependent Species Interactions and Functional Redundancy

溪流中的草食性：依赖于环境的物种相互作用和功能冗余

• 批准号: 0075352
• 负责人: N. Leroy Poff
• 金额: $ 36.94万
• 依托单位: Colorado State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2000
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2000-08-01 至 2004-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0075352&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Herbivory; Streams; Context; dependent; Species

0075352PoffThis project will investigate the ability of mobile herbivores (grazers) to regulate the structure and function of the autotrophic community (e.g., algae), and how this relationship varies with changing environmental conditions. The research approach is to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the outcomes of interactions among herbivore species under a range of physical conditions. Herbivores that graze bottom communities in streams will be included in a series of experiments whereby the dominant environmental gradient (current velocity) is altered. Experiments will assess autotrophic biomass accumulation and community composition across the environmental gradient, as well as the functional redundancy among grazer species in regulating algal communities. The experimental approaches are well integrated so that it will be possible to scale-up experiments and make mechanistic predictions about the magnitude of multi-species herbivory under variable environmental conditions. Results of this study may extend to other ecosystems with spatial heterogeneity in physical conditions and with a variety of herbivorous species. Moreover, the research has significant implications for understanding co-existence of consumers and the degree of "redundancy" or "substitutability" among species. Such understanding is critical for supporting successful restoration of stream and river ecosystems.

0075352Poff该项目将研究移动食草动物（食草动物）调节自养群落（例如藻类）的结构和功能的能力，以及这种关系如何随着环境条件的变化而变化。 研究方法是阐明草食动物物种在一系列物理条件下相互作用结果的机制。 在溪流中吃草的底部群落的食草动物将被纳入一系列实验中，从而改变主要环境梯度（水流速度）。 实验将评估整个环境梯度的自养生物量积累和群落组成，以及食草动物物种在调节藻类群落方面的功能冗余。 实验方法得到了很好的整合，因此可以扩大实验规模，并对可变环境条件下多物种食草动物的数量进行机械预测。 这项研究的结果可能会扩展到物理条件空间异质性和各种草食物种的其他生态系统。 此外，该研究对于理解消费者的共存以及物种之间的“冗余”或“替代性”程度具有重要意义。 这种理解对于支持溪流和河流生态系统的成功恢复至关重要。