RUI: Spatial and Temporal Subsidies in Seasonal Environments

水生和陆生生境往往对彼此有重大的生态影响。景观生态学的这一重要方面主要是在空间中，在永久水生或陆生的相邻栖息地之间进行研究。该项目将在水生和陆地状态之间季节性循环的栖息地类型中，及时调查水生和陆地栖息地之间的相互作用。利用加利福尼亚中央山谷曾经广泛的春季水池系统的残余物，实验将测试冬季水生期间洪水的长度和营养物质的积累如何影响夏季陆生时期发现的植物多样性，以及这些植物留下的茅草如何影响冬季水生植物和无脊椎动物的多样性。该项目的更广泛影响包括培训本科生，扩展到K-12教育，机构之间的合作，以及保护生物多样性和特有物种的应用。该项目主要以本科院校为基础，服务于代表性不足的群体，它将为个别学生提供研究经验和本科课程的材料。加州的春天池塘是高度保护的重点，该项目将向管理这些自然栖息地的州和联邦机构传播结果。

Aquatic and terrestrial habitats often have major ecological effects on each other. This important aspect of landscape ecology has mostly been investigated in space, between adjacent habitats that are permanently aquatic or terrestrial. This project will investigate the interaction between aquatic and terrestrial habitats in time, in a type of habitat that cycles seasonally between an aquatic and a terrestrial state. Using remnants of the once extensive system of vernal pools in the Central Valley of California, experiments will test how length of flooding and accumulation of nutrients during the aquatic period in winter influence the diversity of plants found in the terrestrial period in summer, and how the thatch these plants leave affects the diversity of aquatic plants and invertebrates in winter. The broader impacts of this project include training of undergraduate students, outreach to K-12 education, collaboration between institutions, and applications to conservation of biodiversity and endemic species. The project is based at a primarily undergraduate institution that serves underrepresented groups and it will provide research experiences for individual students and material for undergraduate courses. Vernal pools in California are of high conservation priority, and the project will disseminate results to the state and Federal agencies that manage these natural habitats.