DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Connectivty and ecosystem function in experimental microcosm landscapes

在自然界中，生态系统的功能在不同的空间中变化很大。一些生态系统极其多样化，而另一些生态系统只支持少数物种。生态学理论认为，个体在空间上的分散对功能性生态系统的持久性至关重要，并预测，在某种中等水平的分散下，个体可以在有利的栖息地斑块上定居，并维持功能性生态系统。这项提议的研究将首次在复杂的社区中测试这些理论预测。研究人员将在实验室培养皿中构建微生物群落，以实施一个强大的实验设计，包括有利和不利栖息地的斑块，并测量多种生态系统功能（生产力、呼吸、丰度）。在这些受控的微观世界中，研究人员可以施加大范围的扩散水平。这些实验结合了自然群落中常见的复杂性，将测试分散和分选动力学的重要性，并将产生必要的数据来修改现有的理论。人类正在对生物在生态系统中的运动造成重大变化。由于栖息地的破碎化，一些生态系统的连通性正在下降，而另一些生态系统则在贸易和栖息地同质化的加速下变得更加紧密。理解这些变化对生物多样性和生态系统服务提供的影响需要对生态理论进行强有力的检验。同时，这项研究将为农业生态系统的虫害防治和保护提供信息。他计划在奥斯汀的公立学校举办互动讲座，将科学与管理联系起来，并将在他的研究的各个方面对本科生进行培训。最后，这些实验是8位从不同角度研究元群落生态学的研究人员之间强有力的国际合作的一部分。

In nature, ecosystem function varies extensively across space. Some ecosystems are extremely diverse while others support only a few species. Ecological theory suggests that dispersal of individuals across space is critical to the persistence of functional ecosystems and predicts that, at some intermediate level of dispersal, individuals can colonize favorable habitat patches and maintain functional ecosystems. The proposed research will be the first to test these theoretical predictions in complex communities. Researchers will construct communities of micro-organisms in laboratory petri dishes to implement a robust experimental design that includes patches of favorable and unfavorable habitats and that measures multiple ecosystem functions (productivity, respiration, abundance). In these controlled microcosms, the researchers can impose a wide range of dispersal levels. The experiments incorporate the complexity common in natural communities, will test the importance of dispersal and sorting dynamics, and will produce data necessary to revise existing theory.Humans are causing major changes to the movement of organisms across ecosystems. Some ecosystems are declining in connectivity through the fragmentation of habitat, while others are becoming more connected under increased rates of trade and habitat homogenization. Understanding the impacts of these changes on biodiversity and the provisioning of ecosystem services requires the robust testing of ecological theory. In parallel, the research will inform pest control and conservation in agro-ecosystems. The co-PI plans interactive lectures in Austin public schools to link science with management and will train undergraduate students in all aspects of his research. Finally, the experiments are part of a strong international collaboration among eight researchers who study metacommunity ecology from different perspectives.