Collaborative Research: The Influence of Animal-Generated Disturbances on Multi-Scale Spatial Patterns of Resources and Vegetation

动物直接影响植物群落的结构和动态 （消费）和间接（物理干扰）。 显然 此外，影响的空间格局也 对植物群落的结构有很大的影响。 这项合作研究项目将测试一系列 草食动物影响的空间格局假说 利用动物产生的干扰系统（平原口袋 草本植物群落中的囊鼠）， 可预测的模式（均匀间隔的洞穴和聚集 在表面上的土丘）。 空间格局的影响 对资源分布和植物群落结构的干扰 将被调查。 此外，将分析这些模式 在几个尺度上（从微尺度邻域效应到 全域模式）。 也将在两个之间进行比较 土壤特性差异显著的地点， 食草动物产生的影响的幅度分析， 与土壤肥力的关系。 这项工作将有助于 对理解动物在植物中的作用 通过确定动物的模式来构建群落结构 活动以及将这些活动转化为 在环境中的模式，在植物生长和招聘， 从几平方厘米到 数百m2。

Animals affect plant community structure and dynamics directly (consumption) and indirectly (physical disturbance). It is clear that in addition, the spatial pattern of impacts also significantly influences the structure of plant communities. This collaborative research project will test a series of hypotheses concerning the spatial patterns of herbivore influence using a system of animal-generated disturbances (plains pocket gophers in herbaceous plant communities) that occur in spatially predictable patterns (uniformly spaced burrows and aggregated mounds on the surface). The impact of the spatial pattern of disturbance on resource distribution and plant community structure will be investigated. Furthermore, these patterns will be analyzed at several scales (from microscale neighborhood effects to field-wide patterns). Comparisons also will be made between two sites that differ significantly in soil characteristics, allowing analysis of the amplitude of herbivore-generated effects in relation to soil fertility. This work will contribute significantly to understanding the role of animals in plant community structure by determining the patterns of animal activities and the mechanisms by which they are translated into pattern in the environment, in plant growth and recruitment, and in vegetation across spatial scales ranging from several cm2 to hundreds of m2.