Wild Rice Population Oscillations, Allocation Patterns, and Nutrient Cycles

像野生稻这样的植物种群通常会经历振荡或盛衰周期。生态学理论预测，任何向种群提供有限资源的延迟都会导致种群振荡。先前的建模和实验工作已经证明，野生水稻凋落物的缓慢腐烂确实会通过延迟生长季节的营养供应而导致活种群的振荡。但根的分解速度甚至比茎还要慢，所以把生长分配给根来获取营养可能会加剧这些波动。本研究将研究控制根、芽和种子生产的因素，以及它们如何依赖和改变养分有效性。实验结果将用于改进模拟野生稻生长和产量的计算机模型。除了在生态学上有趣之外，野生水稻还是明尼苏达州Ojibway （Chippewa）部落成员的重要主食和神圣食物。Ojibway部落在明尼苏达州东北部管理着十几个野生稻湖，以尽可能自然的方式生产野生稻。这项研究将涉及与奥吉布韦的丰都拉克部落生物学家的密切合作。将从部落社区学院招募学生来协助这项工作。这将向部落学生展示环境科学职业的潜力。

Plant populations such as wild rice typically undergo oscillations or boom-and-bust cycles. Ecological theory predicts that any delay in delivery of limiting resources to a population will cause it to oscillate. Previous modeling and experimental work has demonstrated that slow decay of wild rice shoot litter indeed causes oscillations in live populations, by delaying nutrient availability during the growing season. But roots decompose even more slowly than shoots, so allocation of growth to roots to obtain nutrients may exacerbate these oscillations. This study will examine the factors that control root, shoot, and seed production, and how they both depend upon and change nutrient availability. The experimental results will be used to improve a computer model that simulates growth and yield of wild rice.Besides being ecologically interesting, wild rice is an important staple and sacred food for members of Minnesota's Ojibway (Chippewa) tribe. The Ojibway tribe manages over a dozen wild rice lakes in northeastern Minnesota for wild rice production in as natural a manner as possible. This research will involve close collaboration with tribal biologists of the Fond du Lac band of Ojibway. Students will be recruited from the tribal community college to assist in this work. This will show tribal students the potentials of a career in the environmental sciences.