International Research Fellowship Program: Determinants of Relative Species Abundance: A Cross-Continental Comparison of Tropical Tree Communities

0703571 Comita国际研究奖学金计划使美国科学家和工程师能够在国外进行9至24个月的研究。该计划的奖项提供了联合研究的机会，并利用国外独特或互补的设施、专业知识和实验条件。该奖项将支持丽莎·S·科米塔博士与巴拿马热带森林科学中心的斯图尔特·J·戴维斯博士合作的为期24个月的研究奖学金。为什么一些物种是常见的，而另一些物种是极其稀有的？在热带地区，查明树木群落共性和稀有性的原因对于了解森林的结构至关重要，并对保护热带多样性具有重要意义。这项研究的目的是研究热带乔木群落物种丰富度的决定因素和限制，并调查不同热带森林物种相对丰富度格局的形成过程是否有所不同。为此，来自热带各地大片林地网络的标准化数据集正被用来检验关于热带树木群落内部和之间的共性和稀有性模式的假设。这个全球地块网络由热带森林科学中心(巴拿马城，巴拿马)协调，该中心拥有世界上最大的热带树木动态数据库，拥有300多万株约6000种个体的信息，估计占地球上所有热带树木物种的10%。目前的研究是对不同热带森林物种丰富度的最全面的跨地点分析之一，并将提供有关这些群落如何构成的基本信息。了解热带森林遗址之间的异同将有助于保护和恢复热带令人难以置信的多样性。此外，该项目在国际范围内提供博士后培训，并帮助博士后进一步实现将基础研究成果应用于拉丁美洲森林保护和恢复工作的职业目标。

0703571ComitaThe International Research Fellowship Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct nine to twenty-four months of research abroad. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad.This award will support a twenty-four-month research fellowship by Dr. Liza S. Comita to work with Dr. Stuart J. Davies at the Center for Tropical Forest Science in Panama.Why are some species common, while others are exceedingly rare? In the tropics, identifying the causes of commonness and rarity in tree communities is essential for understanding how forests are structured and has important implications for the conservation of tropical diversity. The objectives of this study are to examine the determinants of and limits to species abundances in tropical tree communities and to investigate whether the processes shaping species relative abundance patterns differ among tropical forests. To this end, standardized datasets from a network of large forests plots located throughout the tropics are being used to test hypotheses concerning patterns of commonness and rarity both within and among tropical tree communities. This global plot network is coordinated by the Center for Tropical Forest Science (Panama City, Panama), which possesses the world's largest database on tropical tree dynamics, with information on over 3 million individuals of ~6000 species, estimated to represent 10% of all tropical tree species on earth. The current study is among the most comprehensive cross-site analyses of species abundances in diverse tropical forests and will provide fundamental information about how such communities are structured. An understanding of the similarities and differences among tropical forests sites will aid efforts to conserve and restore the incredible diversity of the tropics. In addition, the project is providing postdoctoral training in an international context and is helping the postdoctoral fellow further her career goal of applying basic research findings to forest conservation and restoration efforts in Latin America.