Distribution, Dispersal and Dynamics of Amphibian Populations

我的研究计划是需要更好地理解生物多样性如何得到分布和维护，特别是在生物多样性丧失和生物入侵与人为环境变化的当前生态危机的指导下。支配种群生存能力和持久性的动态生态过程也是确定物种分布和物种范围动态的基础。种群水平动态和范围水平动态之间的因果关系是扩散。当环境条件迅速变化时，人口可能无法迅速适应以科普。那些不能适应的人必须分散生存。这被认为与具有双相生活史的动物特别相关，例如两栖动物，因为它们在其一生中作为幼虫和成虫受到两种不同的选择制度。由于两栖动物需要水生繁殖栖息地，它们具有有限的扩散能力和较强的场地保真度。那么，这些动物如何可能在新的栖息地定居，占据大的地理范围并在环境变化中生存下来呢？以两栖动物为研究对象，我未来五年的目标是将两栖动物的分布模式与其种群生态学的复杂性和真正的扩散潜力相协调。我将测试双相生活史的生态后果，在不同的密度和竞争条件下，在实验池塘和陆生围栏青少年幼虫的实地实验。我将通过操纵繁殖地点和避难所的可用性以及跟踪个体动物的运动来测试蟾蜍的分散与地点保真度。我将利用这种对扩散潜力的理解，利用物种分布模型来研究两栖动物物种范围如何对气候变化做出反应，该模型是根据向北扩展范围的历史记录进行验证的。这些项目为培训高素质人员提供了机会。我的研究计划将大大有助于了解种群的动态，个体的扩散和物种范围的生物学。

My research program is guided by the need to better comprehend how biological diversity gets distributed and maintained, particularly in view of the current ecological crises of biodiversity loss and biological invasions related to anthropogenic environmental change. The dynamic ecological processes that govern population viability and persistence are also fundamental to determining the distributions of species and the dynamics of species' ranges. The causative link between population-level dynamics and range-level dynamics is dispersal. When environmental conditions change quickly, populations may not be able to adapt rapidly enough to cope. Those that cannot adapt must disperse to survive. This is thought to be especially pertinent to animals with biphasic life histories, such as amphibians, since they are subjected to two differing selection regimes as larvae and adults during their lives. Because of their need for aquatic breeding habitats, amphibians have characteristically limited dispersal abilities and strong site fidelity. How is it possible, then, for such animals to colonize new habitats to the extent that they do, occupy large geographic ranges and survive environmental change? Using amphibians as my subjects, my objectives for the next five years are to reconcile patterns of amphibian distribution with the complexities of their population ecology and true potential for dispersal. I will test for the ecological consequences of biphasic life histories using field experiments with larvae in experimental ponds and juveniles in terrestrial enclosures under varying conditions of density and competition. I will test dispersal vs. site fidelity in toads by manipulating breeding site and refuge availability and tracking individual animal movements. I will use this understanding of dispersal potential to ask how amphibian species ranges respond to climatic changes using species distribution models validated against the historical record of northward range expansion. These projects provide opportunities for training highly qualified personnel. My research program will substantially contribute towards understanding the dynamics of populations, the dispersal of individuals and the biology of species' ranges.