OPUS: Plant-animal Interactions and Stochastic Population Dynamics of Understory Plants in Tropical Forests

二十多年前，PI开始研究如何测量传粉者、种子传播者和食草动物等动物对热带雨林林下植物繁殖成功（适应性）的影响。 适合度很难衡量，它取决于植物个体在整个生命周期中对关键事件（出生、生长、繁殖和死亡）的时间和投入，以及种群中个体之间事件的重叠。 有三个主要问题需要解决。 第一，植物的生长、存活、繁殖在特定的年龄或发育阶段受到特定动物的影响有多大？ 第二，在其自然栖息地内，对所有年龄或阶段的植物的生长、存活和繁殖的估计是什么？ 第三，我们如何在一个稳定或不断变化的生境中综合特定阶段的影响与人口模式？ 迄今为止，综合仍然难以捉摸，但可以通过PI和合作者正在开发的分析工具来解决。 PI将综合她的丰富数据与新的模式，结合联合收割机当地和全球环境动态，并提供新的方法来研究多种相互作用的影响。 PI旨在促进发现以及促进大学生的学习和培训。 跨学科方法和新的分析工具将加强研究基础设施。 将与管理人员分享成果，为社会服务，以管理热带森林及其各种生物相互作用。

Over twenty years ago, the PI began an investigation of how to measure the effects that animals like pollinators, seed dispersers and herbivores have on the reproductive success (fitness) of understory plants in tropical rainforests. Fitness is difficult to measure, being determined by the timing and effort invested in key events (birth, growth, reproduction and death) over the full lifetime of an individual plant as well as the overlapping of events among individuals in a population. There are three main issues to address. First, how much is plant growth, survival, reproduction at a given age or developmental stage affected by a particular animal? Second, what are the estimates of growth, survival, and reproduction for all ages or stages of plants within their natural habitats? Third, how can we synthesize the stage-specific effects with the demographic patterns in the context of a stable or a changing habitat? The synthesis has heretofore remained elusive, but can be addressed by analytical tools that are being developed by the PI and collaborators. The PI will synthesize her abundant data with new models that combine local and global environmental dynamics and provide new methods to study the effects of multiple interactions. The PI aims to advance discovery as well as promote learning and training of university students. Interdisciplinary approaches and new analytical tools will enhance research infrastructure. Results will be shared with managers in the service of society to manage tropical forests and their diverse biotic interactions.