Species diversity, stability and loss

物种多样性、稳定性和丧失

• 批准号: RGPIN-2021-03718
• 负责人: Gilbert, Benjamin
• 金额: $ 4.01万
• 依托单位: University of Toronto
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=742689
• 关键词: Species; diversity; stability; loss

My research elucidates the basic laws that underpin the maintenance of biodiversity. In this proposal, I synthesize recent advances from the scientific literature and my own research to test three overarching questions about how biodiversity is maintained and when it is lost. Are there characteristic differences in the stability of species that can be predicted by their abundances or functional traits? Ecologists have long noted that most species in most communities are rare, with only a few species occurring at high abundances. Recent theory posits that this distribution of rarity maps onto how species fluctuate through time and how likely they are to recover from disturbance. I contrast this with an alternate hypothesis about the functional roles that species perform, using experimentally-induced disturbances that target species with different traits and of different abundances. Can instabilities of monocultures of dominant species explain temporal patterns of biodiversity and aggregate functions? A second phenomenon that arises from having only a few abundant species is that they play a dominant role in regulating other species. I propose a test of the processes that limit these dominant species, with a focus on how the nature of that limitation influences other species and the net functioning of ecological communities. How and when do trophic interactions and dispersal dampen or inflate random fluctuations in species abundances? Ecosystems are described as dynamic movements of energy - organisms feeding off the sun and each other to gain energy and then redistributing that energy as they are consumed or decompose. The dynamic transfer of energy has consequences for biodiversity, as a slight change in the population of one species has impacts on those it consumes and those who hunt it, causing fluctuations to ripple through the food web. We address this third question using naturally isolated food webs that occur in plants, and use an experimental approach to measure how random fluctuations in one trophic level (e.g., filter feeders) propagate to their prey and their predators. Together, these questions test three parts to the larger question of how species and the services they provide fluctuate through time, and whether those fluctuations can be understood through the properties of the species and their interactions. The basic science that they provide is necessary for protecting biodiversity and the many services it provides. The research will be carried out in Canada and Costa Rica, using scientific experiments, mathematical modeling, statistics and molecular tools. It will train five PhD students, two MSc students and partially support a postdoctoral fellow in cutting-edge methods that are needed in fields like resource management, conservation, data analytics, and academia.

我的研究阐明了维持生物多样性的基本规律。在本提案中，我综合了科学文献和我自己研究的最新进展，以测试有关生物多样性如何维持以及何时丧失的三个首要问题。 物种的稳定性是否存在特征差异，可以通过它们的丰度或功能特征来预测？生态学家早就注意到，大多数群落中的大多数物种都很罕见，只有少数物种以高丰度出现。最近的理论认为，这种稀有性的分布映射了物种如何随着时间的推移而波动，以及它们从干扰中恢复的可能性有多大。我对比这与另一种假设的功能的角色，物种执行，使用实验引起的干扰，目标物种具有不同的性状和不同的丰度。优势种单一栽培的不稳定性能否解释生物多样性和聚集功能的时间模式？第二个现象是，由于只有少数几个丰富的物种，它们在调节其他物种方面发挥着主导作用。我提出了一个测试的过程，限制这些优势物种，重点是如何限制的性质影响其他物种和生态群落的净功能。 营养相互作用和扩散如何以及何时抑制或加剧物种丰度的随机波动？生态系统被描述为能量的动态运动-生物体以太阳和彼此为食以获得能量，然后在消耗或分解时重新分配能量。能源的动态转移对生物多样性产生影响，因为一个物种的种群数量的微小变化会影响到它的消费者和狩猎者，导致波动涟漪整个食物网。我们使用植物中自然隔离的食物网来解决这第三个问题，并使用实验方法来测量一个营养级（例如，滤食动物）传播给它们的猎物和捕食者。 总之，这些问题测试了物种及其提供的服务如何随时间波动的更大问题的三个部分，以及这些波动是否可以通过物种的特性及其相互作用来理解。它们提供的基础科学对于保护生物多样性及其提供的许多服务是必要的。这项研究将在加拿大和哥斯达黎加进行，使用科学实验、数学建模、统计和分子工具。它将培养五名博士生，两名硕士生，并部分支持博士后研究员在资源管理，保护，数据分析和学术界等领域所需的尖端方法。