Herbivore Interactions in Heterogeneous Environments -- Role of Context-Dependency and Functional Redundancy

N.科罗拉多州立大学生态学家们越来越认识到，物种相互作用的性质可能会因它们发生的环境背景而异。 这个项目将测试的概念，食草动物的行为在流社区和他们与自养生物的相互作用将随着环境条件的变化而变化。 它将研究这一现象的流作为一个关键的环境特征，流速，不同的明显在一个量化的方式。 食草动物和生产者之间的相互作用将在目前的一系列条件下进行评估。 实验将在河边渠道和instantaneous情况下，目前的条件和密度的食草动物可以操纵和自养生物的反应可以进行评估。 该项目的成果将普遍应用于不同的生态系统。 它将提供对各种情况下的背景依赖性评估的深入见解，利用独特的环境特征可以量化并纳入生态系统功能评估的情况。

N. LeRoy PoffColorado State UniversityDEB - 9806504Ecologists are increasingly recognizing that the nature of species interactions may vary depending upon the environmental context in which they occur. This project would test the notion that the behavior of herbivores in stream communities and their interactions with autotrophic organisms will vary as environmental conditions change. It will examine this phenomenon in streams as a key environmental feature , current velocity, varies distinctly in a quantifiable manner. Interactions between herbivores and producers will be evaluated under a range of current conditions. Experiments will be conducted in streamside channels and in instream situations where current conditions and the density of herbivores can be manipulated and responses by autotrophs can be evaluated. Results from this project will have general applications to diverse ecological systems. It will provide insights into the evaluation of context dependency in an array of situations taking advantage of a situation where distinct environmental features can be quantified and incorporated into assessments of the functioning of an ecosystem.