Collaborative Research: LTREB: RUI: Impacts of Insect Herbivory on the Pace and Pattern of Primary Successional Change at Mount St. Helens

该项目将验证昆虫食草性是1980年圣海伦斯火山（Mount St. Helens， MSH）灾难性喷发后影响生物系统恢复的未被认识的主要因素的假设。这项工作将量化昆虫食草动物对两种关键的“生态系统工程”植物的影响：促进土壤发育的羽扇豆；而柳树的主要来源是许多动物所需的三维植被结构。它还将评估食草动物对鸟类和哺乳动物群落的影响。本研究将把昆虫对草食动物影响的连续研究延长至18年，将哺乳动物群落聚集和对植被响应的连续研究延长至28年，为针叶林生物群系中脊椎动物对灾难性干扰的响应提供最全面的数据集。生物系统如何从火山爆发等灾难性干扰中恢复是了解动植物群落如何聚集和功能的基础，并为环境恢复提供理论基础。MSH提供了一个独特的机会来测试从干扰中恢复的生态学理解。我们的工作建立在这一遗产的基础上，阐明了以前未被认识到的控制恢复的机制，并为未来的科学家提供了长期的记录。该项目还通过学生的参与和与国家火山纪念碑及其非营利性合作伙伴圣海伦斯火山研究所的合作，加强了科学教育。

This project will test the hypothesis that insect herbivory is an unrecognized major factor influencing recovery of biological systems following the catastrophic 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens (MSH). The work will quantify impacts of insect herbivores on two key "ecosystem engineering" plants: lupins, which facilitate soil development; and willows, the main source of three dimensional vegetation structure required by many animals. It will also evaluate the effects of herbivores on bird and mammals assemblages. The proposed work will extend the continuous study of insect herbivore impacts at MSH to 18 years, and of mammal community assembly and response to vegetation to 28 years, providing the most comprehensive data set on vertebrate response to catastrophic disturbance in the coniferous forest biome.How biological systems recover from catastrophic disturbances such as volcanic eruptions is fundamental to a basic understanding of how communities of plants and animals assemble and function, and provides the theoretical basis for environmental restoration. MSH has provided a unique opportunity to test ecological understanding of recovery from disturbance. Our work builds on this legacy by elucidating previously unrecognized mechanisms controlling recovery, and by providing long-term records accessible to future scientists. The project also enhances science education through student involvement and work with the National Volcanic Monument and its non-profit partner, the Mount St. Helens Institute.