Dissertation Research: Development of a Model of Wetland Community Structure: Experimental Testing and Evaluation

9310890格雷斯预测随时间变化并对环境条件变化做出反应的能力已成为生态学的优先事项。通过加强基础研究和应用研究之间的联系，生态学家可以利用信息来预测栖息地变化对生物多样性和群落结构的未来影响。本论文的研究有两个主要目的：(1)阐明海岸沼泽群落的因果过程；(2)检验一个结构方程模型，该模型将从生物和非生物变量中预测群落结构的几个属性。这项研究涉及路易斯安那州沿海沼泽系统中盐度、水位、土壤肥力和草食的实验操作。研究群落对三个生长季节试验性变化的反应，将提供不同变量对群落结构影响的证据，并对这些系统的潜在变化率提供估计。%为了保护沼泽免受海水入侵和海平面上升的侵蚀和破坏，资源管理者必须首先知道这些变量如何影响沼泽群落。开发和测试预测沼泽群落结构的模型不仅有助于保护这些受到威胁的系统，而且将推动生态学领域更接近于成为一门更具预测性的科学。***

9310890 Grace The ability to predict changes over time and in response to altered environmental conditions has become a priority in ecology. By strengthening the link between basic and applied research, ecologists can use information to predict future impacts of habitat alterations on biodiversity and community structure. The research in this Dissertation Improvement grant has two main objectives: (1) to elucidate causal processes in coastal marsh communities, and (2) test a structural equation model that will predict several attributes of community structure from biotic and abiotic variables. The research involves experimental manipulations of salinity, water level, soil fertility, and herbivory in a Louisiana coastal marsh system. Examining the responses of communities to experimental alterations over three growing seasons will provide evidence of the effects of different variables on community structure and provide estimates on potential rates of change in these systems. %%% In order to protect marshes from erosion and damage due to salt water intrusion and sea level rise, resource managers must first know how these variables affect marsh communities. The development and testing of a model to predict marsh community structure will not only help preserve these threatened systems, but will move the field of ecology closer to being a more predictive science. ***