Dissertation Research: The Effect of Seaweed Subsidy on an Ant-plant Mutualism

有证据表明，由于全球气候变化，飓风等大风暴正变得更加频繁。风暴活动增加的一个后果是，更多来自海洋的物质最终进入陆地，例如沉积在海滩上的海藻。生物量的这种转移代表着资源从海洋流向陆地生态系统。了解对这种海洋资源流动的生态反应有助于预测飓风频率的增加将如何影响沿海生态系统。这项研究项目调查了海藻是如何影响岛屿上蚂蚁和树木之间的生态相互作用的，海藻因风暴而大量沉积在陆地上。在这种互惠互利的互动中，树木以花蜜的形式为蚂蚁提供食物，作为回报，蚂蚁保护树木免受攻击。如果没有蚂蚁守卫，树木就会被各种其他昆虫吃掉，这可能会造成毁灭性的后果。在添加或移除海藻的岛屿上，蚂蚁将被排除在树木之外，以确定海洋资源如何影响蚂蚁对植物的积极影响。调查人员将包括一组不同的本科生参加这项研究，他们有与代表不同种族背景的男性和女性本科生合作的良好记录。该项目还将支持一名博士生在社区生态学方面的研究。

There is evidence that large storms, such as hurricanes, are becoming more frequent due to global climate change. One consequence of increased storm activity is that more material from the ocean ends up on land, for example, seaweed deposited onto beaches. This transfer of biomass represents a flow of resources from the marine to the terrestrial ecosystem. Understanding the ecological responses to this flux of marine resources can help predict how increasing hurricane frequencies will affect coastal ecosystems. This research project investigates how seaweed, which is deposited on land in large amounts by storms, influences an ecologically important interaction between ants and trees on islands. In this mutually beneficial interaction the trees provide food in the form of nectar for the ants, and in return the ants protect the trees from attack. Without their ant guards, trees are eaten by a variety of other insects, with potentially devastating consequences. Ants will be excluded from trees on islands with seaweed added or removed to determine how marine resources influence the positive effect of ants on plants. The investigators will include a diverse group of undergraduate students in this research and have a strong record of working with both male and female undergraduates representing a variety of ethnic backgrounds. This project will also support the research of a doctoral student in community ecology.