IRFP: Resistance and resilience in Canadian freshwater fish communities with climate induced species range shifts

国际研究奖学金项目使美国科学家和工程师能够在国外进行9至24个月的研究。该计划的奖励为联合研究提供了机会，并利用独特或互补的设施、专业知识和国外的实验条件。该奖项将支持Karen M. Alofs博士与加拿大多伦多大学的Donald A. Jackson博士一起进行为期18个月的研究。预计气候变化将导致物种分布的变化，导致新物种的聚集和改变种间的相互作用。然而，气候变化对生物多样性影响的研究往往侧重于对单个物种的直接影响，而忽视了物种相互作用的作用。来自安大略湖泊的历史和现代数据集被用于研究气候引起的范围变化及其对北纬地区的影响，北纬地区的变化被预测为最强。本项目对预测范围变化进行实证检验，并考察其与淡水鱼群落组成的关系。本研究的三个主要目标是：(1)确认淡水鱼物种的预测范围变化，包括冷水和温水物种在其北部边界的扩张（引入）和冷水物种在其南部边界的收缩（损失）；(2)研究群落组成是否影响这些物种的引进或丧失；(3)检验距离变化的影响是否因物种或湖泊或鱼类群落的特征而异。关于物种分布和种间相互作用的生态学理论可以用来在面对气候变化和入侵物种的相关影响时做出明智的保护决策。该项目涉及与资源管理者合作，评估保护和监测的优先事项，并教育公众。本研究还将通过分析气候变化引起的范围变化所提供的自然实验，对包括殖民化、灭绝和群落组装在内的生态过程提供见解。

The International Research Fellowship Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct nine to twenty-four months of research abroad. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad. This award will support an eighteen-month research fellowship by Dr. Karen M. Alofs to work with Dr. Donald A. Jackson at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Canada. Climate change is expected to produce shifts in species distributions leading to novel species assemblages and altering interspecific interactions. Studies of the effects of climate change on biodiversity, however, often focus on direct impacts for individual species ignoring the role of species interactions. A collection of historical and modern data from Ontario lakes is being used to study climate induced range shifts and their effects at northern latitudes where changes are predicted to be strongest. This project empirically tests for predicted range shifts and examines their relationship to freshwater fish community composition. Three primary objectives of this study are to (1) confirm predicted range shifts for freshwater fish species, including expansions (introductions) of cool and warmwater species at their northern limits and contractions (losses) of coldwater species at their southern limits; (2) examine whether community composition influences these species introductions or losses; and (3) test whether the impacts of range shifts varies between species or by characteristics of the lake or fish community.Ecological theory regarding species distributions and interspecific interactions can be used to make informed conservation decisions in the face of climate change and the related influences of invasive species. This project involves working with resource managers to evaluate conservation and monitoring priorities and educate the public. This research will also provide insights into ecological processes including colonization, extinction and community assembly by analyzing the natural experiments provided by climate induced range shifts.