DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Predator-Prey Interaction in Aquatic Foodwebs

论文研究：水生食物网中的捕食者与被捕食者的相互作用

• 批准号: 0608346
• 负责人: Henry Wilbur
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Virginia Main Campus
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-06-15 至 2008-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0608346&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Predator; Prey; Interaction

A central goal in ecology is to determine how within and across species interactions determine the structure and functioning of ecosystems. Cannibalism is a common interaction with important consequences to the dynamics of food webs. Many species are often cannibalistic, but they are also subject to predation themselves. Although cannibalism is widespread in the animal kingdom and ubiquitous in most ecological communities, its effects of cannibalism on the prey and on the dynamics of predator-prey systems have not been explored. The objective of this study is to use field experiments with dragonfly larvae to determine the consequences of cannibalism to the structure and dynamics of natural communities. These results will be of widespread interest to community, population and behavioral ecologists, because they will provide insights on how the interaction of within- and between-species processes shapes the structure and dynamics of natural communities. The research has also implication for conservation biology, disease control and agriculture such as predicting the impact of invasive predatory species and guiding the biological control of diseases and agricultural pests. The project will promote the integration of research and education by supporting doctoral research and including undergraduate students in summer research at Mountain Lake Biological Station.

生态学的一个中心目标是确定物种内部和物种之间的相互作用如何决定生态系统的结构和功能。同类相食是一种常见的相互作用，对食物网的动态有着重要的影响。许多物种经常同类相食，但它们自己也会被捕食。虽然同类相食在动物界中广泛存在，在大多数生态群落中无处不在，但同类相食对猎物和捕食者-猎物系统动力学的影响尚未被探索。本研究的目的是利用田间实验与幼虫，以确定同类相食的自然群落的结构和动态的后果。这些结果将引起社区，人口和行为生态学家的广泛兴趣，因为它们将提供有关物种内和物种间过程的相互作用如何塑造自然群落的结构和动态的见解。该研究还对保护生物学、疾病控制和农业具有重要意义，如预测入侵捕食性物种的影响，指导疾病和农业害虫的生物防治。该项目将通过支持博士研究、将本科生纳入山湖生物站暑期研究等方式，促进研教融合。