Boom and bust: the role of fire and rain in driving the dynamics of seeds and rodents in arid Australia

繁荣与萧条：火灾和雨水在驱动澳大利亚干旱地区种子和啮齿动物动态中的作用

• 批准号: DP0451749
• 负责人: Prof Chris Dickman
• 金额: $ 17.76万
• 依托单位: The University of Sydney
• 依托单位国家: 澳大利亚
• 项目类别: Discovery Projects
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 澳大利亚
• 起止时间: 2004-04-01 至 2007-04-01
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://dataportal.arc.gov.au/RGS/Web/Grants/DP0451749
• 关键词: Boom; bust; role; fire; rain

The arid Australian environment oscillates between spectacular boom periods, when biotic productivity and diversity are high, and busts, when biotic resources are depleted. This project first outlines a conceptual model of this dynamic and complex system. It then investigates the roles of rainfall and fire in driving boom-bust events, focusing particularly on food resources (seeds) and their consumers (desert rodents) in the hyper-variable Simpson Desert. We propose observations and experiments to quantify how these climatic events affect seed production, seed fate, and ultimately the dynamics of desert rodents, and outline their importance for effective management of the desert environment.

干旱的澳大利亚环境在生物生产力和多样性高的繁荣时期和生物资源枯竭的萧条时期之间摇摆不定。本项目首先概述了这个动态和复杂系统的概念模型。然后，它调查了降雨和火灾在驱动盛衰事件中的作用，特别关注在高度可变的辛普森沙漠中的食物资源（种子）和它们的消费者（沙漠啮齿动物）。我们提出了观测和实验来量化这些气候事件如何影响种子生产、种子命运，最终影响沙漠啮齿动物的动态，并概述了它们对有效管理沙漠环境的重要性。