Species invasion and the ecology of rocky subtidal communities

物种入侵和潮下岩石群落的生态

• 批准号: 34851-2007
• 负责人: Scheibling, Robert
• 金额: $ 3.86万
• 依托单位: Dalhousie University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2010-01-01 至 2011-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=450579
• 关键词: Species; invasion; ecology; rocky; subtidal

As ecologists and students of the ocean, we have become increasingly aware that coastal ecosystems have been profoundly altered, relative to their naturally evolved state, by the activity of humans. Among the most urgent concerns is the introduction of new species into marine communities, that then expand rapidly to replace native species. These human-mediated biological invasions can result in pronounced changes in habitat and ecosystem structure and function, often with dire ecologic and economic consequences. The community of seaweeds, invertebrates and fish that inhabit the rocky seabed of Atlantic Canada provides a striking example of a heavily impacted ecosystem. Historically, this community has alternated between two ecological states dependent on the abundance of a key herbivore, the sea urchin: kelp beds where urchins are rare and barrens where urchins dominate the seascape and seaweeds are absent. Cyclical alternations between these states are driven by sporadic outbreaks of a disease that kills urchins. Amid this backdrop of perturbation and instability, synergistic interactions between recently introduced species have shifted the ecosystem towards a novel community state dominated by an invasive Asian seaweed. The objective of our research is to understand the biological and environmental processes that regulate transitions between ecosystem states or determine their persistence. In particular, we will investigate the effects of invasive species on ecosystem structure and function using a range of experimental and observational approaches to examine species interactions, construct food webs, and develop predictive mathematical models that are needed for intelligent management of this increasingly perturbed ecosystem.

作为生态学家和研究海洋的学生，我们越来越意识到，人类活动已经深刻改变了沿海生态系统的自然演变状态。最紧迫的问题之一是将新物种引入海洋群落，然后迅速扩大以取代本地物种。这些人类介导的生物入侵可导致生境和生态系统结构和功能的显著变化，往往带来可怕的生态和经济后果。栖息在加拿大大西洋岩石海底的海藻、无脊椎动物和鱼类群落提供了一个受严重影响的生态系统的突出例子。从历史上看，这个社区在两种生态状态之间交替，这两种生态状态依赖于一种重要的食草动物海胆的丰度：海胆稀少的海带床和海胆占主导地位的海景和海藻缺席的贫瘠地。这些状态之间的周期性交替是由一种杀死海胆的疾病的零星爆发所驱动的。在这种扰动和不稳定的背景下，最近引入的物种之间的协同作用已经将生态系统转向了一种由入侵的亚洲海藻主导的新的群落状态。我们研究的目的是了解调节生态系统状态之间的过渡或确定其持久性的生物和环境过程。特别是，我们将调查入侵物种对生态系统结构和功能的影响，使用一系列的实验和观察方法来研究物种之间的相互作用，构建食物网，并开发预测数学模型，这些模型是智能管理这个日益扰动的生态系统所必需的。