Facilitative Interactions and the Dynamics of Salt Marsh Plant Communities

9306349赤裸裸本研究考察了正向交互作用在盐沼植物群落形成中的相对重要性。它测试了一种假设，即积极的相互作用是恶劣物理环境的特征，因为固着生物经常相互缓冲，免受物理压力的影响。该项目将研究促进现象在盐沼胁迫梯度上的分布，以量化促进作用与应激生境之间的联系，探索促进作用在沼泽植物之间产生的机制(S)，并调查促进联系对沼泽植物分布格局的群落影响。与竞争相比，积极互动在自然社区中所起的作用很少受到关注，在社区组织的一般讨论中通常被忽视。这项工作将直接研究促进现象在影响广泛的本土植物群落的过程和格局中的重要性，从而有助于理解促进在自然界中所起的作用。***

9306349 Bertness This study examines the relative importance of positive interactions in shaping salt marsh plant communities. It tests the hypothesis that positive interactions are characteristic of harsh physical environments since sessile organisms frequently buffer one another from physical stress. The project will examine the distribution of facilitative phenomena across salt marsh stress gradients to quantify the association of facilitative interactions with stressful habitats, explore the mechanisms (s) responsible for generating facilitative interactions among marsh plants, and investigate the community repercussions of facilitative associations on the distribution patterns of marsh plants. %%% In contrast to competition, the role played by positive interactions in natural communities has received little attention and is usually ignored in general discussions of community organization. This work will directly examine the importance of facilitative phenomena in affecting process and pattern in a widespread native plant community and thus contribute to understanding the role played by facilitations in nature. ***