Collaborative Research: Interactive Effects of Climate, Ecosystem Engineering, and Trophic Interactions on Grassland Community Dynamics

预测气候变化对生态系统的影响是复杂的，因为气候可以通过许多独立和相互作用的方式影响同一地区的不同物种和过程。该项目将调查加州沙漠草原年降雨量减少的多重影响，在那里，穴居、以种子为食的哺乳动物强烈影响土壤养分、土壤水分和植物传播种子，并且引入的植物物种与本地植物竞争。研究人员将排除哺乳动物，拦截或增加降雨，并在四年内测量对哺乳动物、植物和无脊椎动物种群以及营养水平的影响。这个通过实验测试气候在自然系统中多种复杂影响的不同寻常的机会将促进我们对气候变化的生态后果的基本理解。这个项目的更广泛的影响包括发展科学劳动力，可能包括代表不足的群体，向公众宣传，以及在保护生物多样性和自然区域管理方面的应用。该项目将培养一名博士后研究员、一名研究生和三名研究技术人员。与两个当地组织的合作将促进公共科学教育和志愿服务。这些发现将为卡里佐平原的管理提供信息，卡里佐平原是加利福尼亚州一种主要类型草原的最后一个主要残留物，也是濒危物种的避难所。

Predicting the effects of climate change on ecological systems is complicated by the many separate and interacting ways in which climate can affect the different species and processes in the same place. This project will investigate the multiple effects of a decrease in annual precipitation in desert grassland in California where burrowing, seed-eating mammals strongly affect soil nutrients, soil moisture, and seed dispersal by plants, and where introduced plant species compete with native ones. Researchers will exclude mammals, intercept or add rainfall, and measure effects on populations of mammals, plants, and invertebrates and on nutrient levels over four years. This unusual opportunity to experimentally test multiple, complex effects of climate in a natural system will advance our basic understanding of the ecological consequences of climate change.The broader impacts of this project include development of the workforce for science likely including underrepresented groups, outreach to the public, and applications to the conservation of biodiversity and the management of natural areas. The project will train a postdoctoral researcher, a graduate student, and three research technicians. Work with two local organizations will promote public science education and volunteering. Findings will inform management of the Carrizo Plain, the last major remnant of a major type of grassland in California and a refuge for endangered species.