DISSERTATION RESEARCH -Bird and Bat Effects on Arthropod Densities and Herbivory in Tropical Forest Restoration Sites

热带森林正在迅速消失。积极的恢复，通过种植原生植被，是对抗森林砍伐的有效策略。然而，植食昆虫可能会对用于恢复的树木造成严重损害，从而限制恢复地点的成功。生态系统中的顶级捕食者，如鸟类和蝙蝠，可以对植物食性昆虫的丰富程度产生强烈的直接影响，并对这些昆虫造成的植物损害产生间接影响。本研究通过比较暴露于鸟类和蝙蝠捕食的树木和受保护的树木之间的昆虫丰度和植物损害程度，考察了鸟类和蝙蝠在恢复地点消耗昆虫的影响。通过食用昆虫，鸟类和蝙蝠可以提供重要的生态服务，通过帮助植物的生存和生长，这对恢复热带森林的努力可能特别重要。这项研究将有助于改善热带森林恢复工作，这是保护生物多样性战略的关键组成部分。恢复退化的土地和维持生态系统服务，如水文循环和碳封存。这项工作还将检查鸟类和蝙蝠作为潜在有害昆虫的生物控制的作用，这些信息将与许多类型的农业工业相关。与当地社区成员和教育团体的合作将为居住在研究区域的人们提供教育和培训。结果将以英文和西班牙文向一般读者和科学读者散发。

Tropical forests are disappearing at a rapid pace. Active restoration, by planting native vegetation, is an effective strategy to counteract this deforestation. However, plant-eating insects could cause significant damage to trees planted for restoration and thus limit the success of restoration sites. Top predators in an ecosystem, like birds and bats, can have strong direct effects on the abundance of plant-eating insects and indirect effects on plant damage caused by those insects. This research examines the effects of bird and bat consumption of insects in restoration sites by comparing insect abundance and levels of plant damage between trees that are exposed to bird and bat predation and trees that are protected. By consuming insects, birds and bats could provide a significant ecological service which may be of particular importance to efforts to restore tropical forest by aiding plant survival and growth. This research will help improve tropical forest restoration efforts, a critical component of strategies to conserve biodiversity. restore degraded lands and maintain ecosystem services such as hydrological cycling and carbon sequestration. This work will also examine the role of birds and bats as biological controls of potentially damaging insects, information that will be relevant for many types of agricultural industries. Collaborations with local community members and education groups will provide education and training for the people that live in the study area. Results will be disseminated in English and Spanish to both general and scientific audiences.