MPS-BIO: Dynamics and stability of plant-pollinator mutualistic networks in response to ecological perturbations

MPS-BIO：植物-传粉媒介互惠网络响应生态扰动的动态和稳定性

• 批准号: 1313115
• 负责人: Katriona Shea
• 金额: $ 30万
• 依托单位: Pennsylvania State Univ University Park
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-10-01 至 2017-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1313115&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MPS; BIO; Dynamics; stability; plant

This project will advance the theoretical framework of network analysis aimed toward the study of ecological communities, in order to answer basic and applied questions concerning the impacts of extinctions and invasions on community stability and biodiversity. The investigators have introduced a dynamic Boolean network model of plant-pollinator mutualistic ecosystems that describes their formation and stability. They will expand the model to examine perturbations to ecosystem structure, specifically the permanent or temporary removal (extinction) or introduction (invasion) of one or more species. This will allow for assessment of which species and ecosystem properties contribute to the susceptibility of an ecosystem to catastrophic failure, and which contribute most to stability. The project will make use of high-performance computing to model the formation and dynamics of diverse ecological communities. The results of the dynamic simulations will be distilled into novel graph theoretical analyses and measures. This project will also inform a number of related theoretical studies on the importance of transient species (those absent from stable communities, but temporarily present during dynamical re-equilibration), the role of other mutualistic and natural enemy interactions, composite interactions, and context-dependent interactions. This project is based upon an application of dynamic network theory to mutualistic ecological networks, the unique challenges of which will also expand the body of knowledge concerning network theory's general applications and uses. The need to address the impacts of environmental perturbations is increasingly urgent; the addition or loss of species to existing ecological communities can have far-reaching consequences for both the community and the greater ecosystem in which the community is embedded. For example, the recent, rapid decline in pollinator levels poses a serious risk to global agriculture and food security. This project will advance our knowledge of how these complex systems function; only if we can anticipate the effects of environmental perturbations can we act to prevent or ameliorate undesired outcomes. This project will not only address species and community structures that are critical to community stability, but will also facilitate assessment of community manipulations, such as floral resource provisioning for native bees to benefit fruit growers, that bring about desired management outcomes in the face of perturbations.

本项目旨在建立生态群落研究网络分析的理论框架，以回答灭绝和入侵对群落稳定性和生物多样性影响的基础和应用问题。研究人员引入了植物-传粉者共生生态系统的动态布尔网络模型，描述了它们的形成和稳定性。他们将扩展该模型，以检查生态系统结构的扰动，特别是一个或多个物种的永久或暂时移除（灭绝）或引入（入侵）。这将有助于评估哪些物种和生态系统特性导致生态系统对灾难性失败的易感性，哪些物种和生态系统特性对稳定性贡献最大。该项目将利用高性能计算来模拟不同生态群落的形成和动态。动态模拟的结果将提炼成新的图理论分析和措施。该项目还将为一些相关的理论研究提供信息，包括瞬态物种（那些不存在于稳定群落中，但在动态再平衡期间暂时存在的物种）的重要性、其他互惠和天敌相互作用、复合相互作用和环境依赖相互作用的作用。该项目基于动态网络理论在共生生态网络中的应用，其独特的挑战也将扩展有关网络理论的一般应用和使用的知识体系。日益迫切需要处理环境扰动的影响；现有生态群落中物种的增加或减少会对该群落及其所处的更大生态系统产生深远的影响。例如，最近传粉媒介数量的迅速下降对全球农业和粮食安全构成严重威胁。这个项目将推进我们对这些复杂系统如何运作的认识；只有当我们能够预测环境扰动的影响时，我们才能采取行动防止或改善不希望的结果。该项目不仅将解决对群落稳定至关重要的物种和群落结构，还将促进对群落操作的评估，例如为本地蜜蜂提供花卉资源以使水果种植者受益，从而在面对扰动时带来理想的管理结果。