QEIB: Spatial Spread of Invasive Carduus Thistles: Linking Demography and Dispersal

这项研究建议研究两种有害杂草的空间扩散：麝香和无毛蓟。基于实地收集的数据，将开发一套日益复杂的数学模型，以评估在关于种群结构和景观空间异质性的不同假设下这些物种的扩散速度。这将允许评估哪些物种和环境特征对入侵传播的贡献最大。这两种蓟在美国都是主要的有害杂草。因此，这类工作将产生重要的管理影响。这些模型将被用来提出几个应用问题：本地控制策略是否也是减少区域传播的最佳策略？怎样才能降低这些入侵者的空间扩散速度？每个物种的最佳管理策略是否不同，如果是，原因是什么？该项目将人口和社区生态学中的概念联系起来，从而促进了空间传播的不同建模方法的整合。这项经验性工作将允许改进扩散测量的设计，特别是远距离扩散。重要的是，这项研究将提高我们对不同建模技术在评估入侵生物传播方面的适用性的理解。

This study proposes to examine the spatial spread of two noxious weeds: musk and plumeless thistle. Based on field-collected data, a suite of mathematical models of increasing complexity will be developed to assess the rate of spread of these species under different assumptions about the population structure and the spatial heterogeneity of the landscape. This will allow the assessment of which species and environmental characteristics contribute most to invasive spread.Both these thistles are major noxious weeds in the US. Thus, there will be important management implications of such work. The models will be used to ask several applied questions: Are local control strategies also the best for reducing regional spread? What can reduce the rate of spatial spread of these invaders? Do optimal management strategies for each species differ, and if so, why? This project links concepts in population and community ecology and thereby facilitates integration of different modeling approaches for spatial spread. The empirical work will allow improvement of designs for the measurement of dispersal, in particular long distance dispersal. Importantly, this study will improve our understanding of the applicability of different modeling techniques for assessing spread of invasive organisms.