Disturbance Theory: The effects of different types of environmental perturbation on species invasion and coexistence

干扰发生在所有生态系统中，但没有一个通用的理论框架，涵盖干扰的各个方面及其对生物群落的个别和相互作用的影响。干扰的频率、强度、持续时间、范围和时间都可以影响物种共存的能力和新物种入侵现有群落的能力。干扰的这些方面之间的相互作用进一步使其影响复杂化，需要一个强大的理论框架，可以应用于许多生态系统和个人，种群和社区。将利用分析和模拟模型，将物种特征与干扰制度和种群动态联系起来，发展一种基于生态位的干扰理论。如果成功，该项目将为关于干扰的各种文献创建一个共同框架，大大推进我们对干扰作为生物多样性驱动因素的理解。将通过将这些模型应用于以下三个案例研究来检验这些模型的效用：非本地蓟的入侵和管理、澳大利亚火灾和放牧干扰的相互作用以及深海热液喷口系统中物种的共存。该项目的影响更为广泛，因为人类活动正在改变几乎所有生态系统的干扰机制，对物种共存和多样性产生未知的后果，而且干扰在许多入侵物种的传播中发挥了关键作用。一个全面的干扰理论将告知科学家和自然资源管理人员，何时何地干扰的变化可能对多样性构成威胁或改变生态系统对入侵物种的敏感性。

Disturbances occur in all ecosystems, but there is no general theoretical framework that encompasses the various aspects of disturbance and their individual and interacting effects on biological communities. The frequency, intensity, duration, extent, and timing of disturbance can each influence the ability of species to coexist and the ability of new species to invade existing communities. Interactions among these aspects of disturbance further complicate their impacts, creating a need for a robust theoretical framework that can be applied to many ecosystems and to individuals, populations, and communities. An ecological niche-based theory of disturbance will be developed using analytical and simulation models, linking species traits to disturbance regimes and population dynamics. If successful, the project will create a common framework for a diverse literature on disturbance, significantly advancing our understanding of disturbance as a driver of biological diversity. The utility of the resulting models will be tested by applying them to three case studies: invasion and management of non-native thistles, fire and grazing disturbance interactions in Australia, and coexistence of species in deep-sea hydrothermal vent systems. Broader impacts of this project are present because human activities are changing disturbance regimes in virtually all ecosystems, with unknown consequences for species coexistence and diversity, and because disturbance has played a key role in the spread of many invasive species. A comprehensive theory of disturbance will inform scientists and natural resource managers when and where changes in disturbance are likely to pose threats to diversity or change the susceptibility of an ecosystem to invasive species.