Collaborative Research: Competitive Ability of Clonal Plants--The Roles of Clonal Integration and Ramet Aggregation in Structuring Plant Communities

Goldberg/Gough DEB-9974296/DEB-9974284本研究将探讨克隆整合和分株聚集这两个重要的克隆属性对克隆植物种间相互作用结果的影响。它将开发一系列关于这两个特征如何影响个人水平的竞争能力和整体社区结构的预测。这将通过一系列实验来完成，实验使用了密歇根州东南部石灰质泥炭地群落中典型的八种克隆物种。希望这项提案中概述的工作将整合目前不同的研究领域，包括植物竞争、克隆整合和觅食的实地研究，以及关于个体空间安排的社区一级后果的理论研究。这个项目将有助于我们了解克隆植物的生态学，并有助于我们理解个体层面的竞争如何转化为社区层面的物种模式。

Goldberg/Gough DEB-9974296/DEB-9974284This study will explore the influence of two important clonal attributes, clonal integration and ramet aggregation, on the outcome of interspecific interactions among clonal plants. It will develop a series of predictions about how these two characteristics influence both individual-level competitive ability and overall community structure. This will be done using a series of experiments using eight clonal species typical of calcareous peatland communities of southeastern Michigan. It is hoped that the work outlined in this proposal will integrate the currently disparate research areas of field studies of plant competition, clonal integration and foraging and theoretical studies of community-level consequences of spatial arrangement of individuals. This project will contribute to our knowledge of the ecology of clonal plants and to our understanding of how competition at the individual level is translated into species patterns at the community level.