An Intransitive Switch: Turning Ecological Processes On and Off

自从科学方法应用于生态系统以来，竞争和预测等生态过程影响物种组合的想法一直是一个共同的主题。这些因素被认为是自然界中许多模式的解释。P.I.将调查竞争等级(物种A总是击败物种B和C，B总是击败C)可以被改变到这样的程度，即不传递关系(即，物种A击败物种B，物种B击败物种C，物种C击败物种A)使用几个入侵序列，导致不传递关系的顺序发生变化。P.I.提出了一系列实验，旨在探索基于生理、人口和社区层面因素的资源竞争。对这一现象的实验和理论分析有望揭示生态机制，这很可能很好地重塑当前关于物种间竞争的一些观点。

The idea that ecological processes such as competition and predication influence assemblages of species has been a common theme ever since the scientific method was applied to ecological systems. Such factors have been posited as explanations for many of the patterns seen in nature. The P.I. will investigate competitive hierarchies (species A always beats species B and C, and B always beats C) can be altered to such that an extent that an intransitive relationship (i.e.,) species A beats species B, which beats species C, which beats species A) using several invasion sequences which resulted in a change in ordering of the intransitivity. The P.I. propose a series of experiments designed to explore competition for resources based on physiological, population, and community level factors. The experimentation and theoretical analysis of this phenomenon promises to uncover ecological mechanics which may very well recast some of the current views of interspecific competition.