Habitat mediated interactions: biogenic landscapes and their influence on coastal species interactions

栖息地介导的相互作用：生物景观及其对沿海物种相互作用的影响

• 批准号: 327466-2009
• 负责人: Quijon, Pedro
• 金额: $ 1.75万
• 依托单位: University of Prince Edward Island
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2013-01-01 至 2014-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=526972
• 关键词: Habitat; mediated; interactions; biogenic; landscapes

The past decade has seen a renewed interest on marine biodiversity due mainly to growing concerns over habitat deterioration, and loss of species and key ecosystem services. Nonetheless, conservation and management priorities continue to focus on charismatic or economically valuable species, disregarding the study of critical habitats and their influence on the interactions that shape marine biodiversity. A prime example of this is the poor understanding we have of the processes organizing communities associated to marine sediments, the single habitat encompassing a vast majority of the world's seafloor. For example, in sandy and muddy shores the presence of scattered beds of oysters and mussels adds substantial complexity to these otherwise uniform coastal habitats. It is well known that these patchy beds enhance the number and diversity of coastal species, but it is still unclear what role they play in the trophic interactions taking place within and among this landscape of patches. This program combines elements of landscape ecology and predator optimal foraging to address three intriguing but blurry phenomena: the influence of biogenic patches (oyster and mussel beds) upon landscape biodiversity, their mediation of among-predator interactions, and their effects on predator-prey interactions. This program takes advantage of the ongoing spread of an invasive predator, the green crab (Carcinus maenas), and the striking preference that this species and its native counterpart exhibit for patches of biogenic habitat. Due to the nature of the questions outlined here, this mosaic of biogenic patches embedded into a sedimentary matrix represents a unique model system in which to study species interactions with broad ecological applicability. Ultimately, improved understanding of the processes associated to local phenomena like habitat patchiness, and large scale phenomena like invasion biology, will lead to a more comprehensive understanding and a better management of marine biodiversity.

过去十年，人们对海洋生物多样性重新产生了兴趣，主要原因是对栖息地恶化、物种和关键生态系统服务丧失的担忧日益增加。尽管如此，保护和管理的优先事项仍然集中在有魅力或有经济价值的物种上，而忽视了对关键生境及其对形成海洋生物多样性的相互作用的影响的研究。一个典型的例子是，我们对与海洋沉积物相关的群落组织过程了解不足，而海洋沉积物是世界上绝大多数海底的单一栖息地。例如，在沙质和泥泞的海岸，牡蛎和贻贝的分散床的存在增加了这些原本统一的海岸栖息地的实质性复杂性。众所周知，这些斑片床增加了沿海物种的数量和多样性，但它们在斑块景观内部和之间发生的营养相互作用中起什么作用仍不清楚。该项目结合了景观生态学和捕食者最佳觅食的要素，以解决三个有趣但模糊的现象：生物成因斑块（牡蛎和贻贝床）对景观生物多样性的影响，它们对捕食者之间相互作用的调解，以及它们对捕食者-猎物相互作用的影响。该项目利用了一种入侵捕食者——绿蟹（Carcinus maenas）的持续传播，以及这种物种及其本土同类对生物栖息地斑块的惊人偏好。由于这里概述的问题的性质，这种镶嵌在沉积基质中的生物成因斑块代表了一种独特的模型系统，用于研究具有广泛生态适用性的物种相互作用。最终，提高对栖息地斑块等局部现象和入侵生物学等大规模现象相关过程的理解，将导致对海洋生物多样性的更全面的理解和更好的管理。