DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Ecological context shapes how consumers respond to predation risk

论文研究：生态环境决定消费者如何应对捕食风险

• 批准号: 1110675
• 负责人: Geoffrey Trussell
• 金额: $ 1.08万
• 依托单位: Northeastern University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-06-01 至 2013-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1110675&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Ecological; context; shapes

Predators can strongly influence the structure and function of ecosystems through trophic cascades. Classically, trophic cascades emerge when predators eat intermediate consumers and thus have a positive, indirect effect on the base of the food chain. Recent work suggests, however, that the anti-predator behaviors of consumers can also drive trophic cascades. Consumers often reduce their foraging activity in order to minimize vulnerability to predators, but reduced foraging comes at the cost of reduced energy intake and growth. Hence, physiological (e.g., energy reserves, metabolic rate) and environmental conditions (e.g., resource availability, environmental stress) may influence how consumers balance these tradeoffs. For example, theory predicts that consumers may be more willing to accept increased predation risk while foraging when the risk of starvation is also high (i.e., low energy reserves or resources). The proposed laboratory and field experiments use a model food chain from the rocky shores of New England to examine consumer responses to predation risk. Despite considerable theory, more empirical research is necessary to better understand how ecological context shapes growth-predation risk tradeoffs in prey, which ultimately determine the strength of risk-driven trophic cascades and the impact of predators in ecological communities. Furthermore, because the stress of predation risk also affects how energy transfers up the food chain, insights from this work will improve scientific understanding of the importance of biodiversity, food web dynamics, and the use of predators in the management of natural ecosystems (e.g., Yellowstone National Park).Based at Northeastern University?s Marine Science Center (MSC), the PIs will engage students from diverse backgrounds in their research through summer internships and the many well-established K-12 outreach programs based at the MSC. Additionally, the proposed experiments will be integrated into their field-based Experimental Design in Marine Ecology course that is offered to undergraduate and graduate students at Northeastern.

捕食者可以通过营养级联反应强烈影响生态系统的结构和功能。 从经典上讲，当捕食者吃中间消费者时，营养​​的级联反应出现，因此对食物链的基础产生了积极的，间接的影响。 然而，最近的工作表明，消费者的抗侵犯行为也可以驱动营养级联。消费者通常会减少其觅食活动，以最大程度地减少对捕食者的脆弱性，但觅食减少是以减少能量摄入和增长的代价。 因此，生理（例如能源储备，代谢率）和环境状况（例如，资源可用性，环境压力）可能会影响消费者如何平衡这些权衡。 例如，理论预测，当饥饿的风险也很高时，消费者可能更愿意接受增加的捕食风险（即低能储备或资源）。拟议的实验室和现场实验使用新英格兰岩石海岸的模型食物链来检查消费者对捕食风险的反应。 尽管有很多理论，但更有必要的研究对于更好地理解生态环境如何塑造猎物的生长风险权衡，这最终决定了风险驱动的营养级联反应的强度以及掠食者在生态社区中的影响。 此外，因为捕食风险的压力还会影响能量如何转移食物链，这项工作的见解将改善对生物多样性，食物网络动态的重要性的科学理解，以及捕食者在自然生态系统管理中使用捕食者在自然生态系统管理中的使用（例如，在夏季的夏季学生和许多人都可以参与国际水平的研究。成熟的K-12外展计划位于MSC。 此外，拟议的实验将集成到其基于现场的实验设计中，该实验设计提供给东北地区的本科生和研究生。