QEIB: Spatial Spread of Invasive Carduus Thistles: Linking Demography and Dispersal

本研究拟探讨两种有害杂草：麝香和无羽蓟的空间扩散。 根据实地收集的数据，将开发一套日益复杂的数学模型，以评估这些物种在不同假设下的种群结构和景观空间异质性的传播速度。 这将允许评估哪些物种和环境特征对入侵传播贡献最大。这两种蓟都是美国主要的有毒杂草。 因此，这项工作将涉及重要的管理问题。 这些模型将被用来问几个应用问题：地方控制策略也是减少区域传播的最佳策略吗？ 什么可以降低这些入侵者的空间传播速度？ 每个物种的最佳管理策略是否不同，如果是，为什么？ 该项目将人口和社区生态学的概念联系起来，从而促进了空间传播的不同建模方法的整合。 经验工作将允许改进设计的扩散，特别是长距离扩散的测量。重要的是，这项研究将提高我们对评估入侵生物传播的不同建模技术的适用性的理解。

This study proposes to examine the spatial spread of two noxious weeds: musk and plumeless thistle. Based on field-collected data, a suite of mathematical models of increasing complexity will be developed to assess the rate of spread of these species under different assumptions about the population structure and the spatial heterogeneity of the landscape. This will allow the assessment of which species and environmental characteristics contribute most to invasive spread.Both these thistles are major noxious weeds in the US. Thus, there will be important management implications of such work. The models will be used to ask several applied questions: Are local control strategies also the best for reducing regional spread? What can reduce the rate of spatial spread of these invaders? Do optimal management strategies for each species differ, and if so, why? This project links concepts in population and community ecology and thereby facilitates integration of different modeling approaches for spatial spread. The empirical work will allow improvement of designs for the measurement of dispersal, in particular long distance dispersal. Importantly, this study will improve our understanding of the applicability of different modeling techniques for assessing spread of invasive organisms.