Niche and Neutral Processes Structuring A Damselfly Functional Group

构建豆娘功能组的利基和中性过程

• 批准号: 0714782
• 负责人: Mark McPeek
• 金额: $ 62.29万
• 依托单位: Dartmouth College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-01-01 至 2013-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0714782&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Niche; Neutral; Processes; Structuring; Damselfly

Ecological theory is generally built on the assumption that different species occupy different niches in the environment. This means that for species to live together they must do different things, and what is beneficial to one species is detrimental to another. However, a tremendous amount of empirical evidence suggests that many closely related species are also nearly identical to one another. This means that features of the ecological world may not be maintaining species in a system at all. More importantly, some species may be slowly being driven extinct at imperceptible rates by interactions with other species in the system. This alternative is known as 'ecological drift', a process whereby species' relative abundances change according to a random walk that is akin to random genetic drift. This proposal describes research to evaluate these alternatives in damselfly assemblages found in lakes with fish across eastern North America. This work combines regional investigations of 80 lakes to search for broad-scale patterns with critical field experiments that test the fundamental predictions that can discriminate niche from neutral processes. Our ability to construct sound biodiversity management and preservation strategies will critically depend on our understanding of the mechanisms promoting high diversity. The broader impacts of the proposed activity are to engage undergraduates in all components of the scientific research enterprise, and to foster science curriculum for our local K-5 elementary schools.

生态学理论通常建立在不同物种在环境中占据不同小生境的假设之上。 这意味着，物种要共同生活，它们必须做不同的事情，对一个物种有利的事情对另一个物种不利。 然而，大量的经验证据表明，许多密切相关的物种也几乎彼此相同。 这意味着生态世界的特征可能根本无法维持系统中的物种。 更重要的是，一些物种可能会因为与系统中其他物种的相互作用而以难以察觉的速度慢慢灭绝。 这种选择被称为“生态漂移”，即物种的相对丰度根据类似于随机遗传漂移的随机游走而变化的过程。 该提案描述了在北美东部有鱼的湖泊中发现的豆娘组合中评估这些替代品的研究。 这项工作结合了对80个湖泊的区域调查，以寻找大规模的模式，并进行了关键的现场实验，测试了可以区分生态位和中性过程的基本预测。 我们是否有能力制定健全的生物多样性管理和保护战略，关键取决于我们对促进高度多样性的机制的理解。 拟议活动的更广泛的影响是让本科生参与科研企业的所有组成部分，并促进我们当地K-5小学的科学课程。