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

论文研究 - 鸟类和蝙蝠对热带森林恢复地点节肢动物密度和食草动物的影响

• 批准号: 0909640
• 负责人: Catherine Lindell
• 金额: $ 1.04万
• 依托单位: Michigan State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-07-01 至 2011-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0909640&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Bird; Bat; Effects

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.

热带森林正在迅速消失。通过种植原生植被进行积极的恢复，是抵制这种毁林的有效战略。然而，食草昆虫可能会对用于恢复的树木造成重大损害，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，可以对食草昆虫的数量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。本研究通过比较鸟类和蝙蝠捕食的树木与受保护的树木之间的昆虫丰度和植物损害程度，研究了鸟类和蝙蝠对恢复地点昆虫消费的影响。通过食用昆虫，鸟类和蝙蝠可以提供重要的生态服务，这可能对通过帮助植物生存和生长来恢复热带森林的努力特别重要。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一个重要组成部分。恢复退化的土地和维持生态系统服务，如水文循环和碳固存。这项工作还将研究鸟类和蝙蝠作为潜在破坏性昆虫的生物控制的作用，这些信息将与许多类型的农业产业相关。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。研究结果将以英文和西班牙文向一般和科学受众传播。