Effects of Habitat Fragmentation on Consumer-Resource Dynamics in Environments Varying in Space and Time

在世界所有区域，人类活动将生境分割成空间上相互隔离的部分。很明显，这种隔离会伤害动物种群。 特别是，有证据表明，随着栖息地面积的减少，每单位栖息地面积的动物数量也在减少。 发生这种情况的原因知之甚少。 栖息地面积对种群密度影响的一个可能解释是，栖息地破碎的动物获得生存和繁殖所需食物的机会有限。 拟议的工作将测试的假设，栖息地破碎化导致人口密度降低，限制动物获得食物的多样性。 研究人员将进行一项实验，其中一个蝗虫种群可以获得各种各样的食物，这些食物的质量随时间和空间而变化。 另一个相同规模的人口将被划分为子人口，每个子人口将有限地获得全部资源。 研究人员还将构建碎片化对消费者和资源之间相互作用的影响的数学模型。 这项工作将改善全世界人类土地使用决策的科学基础。 此外，我们将利用该项目为数学，生态学和统计学的研究生提供跨学科培训的研究问题。

In all regions of the world, human activities fragment habitats into spatially isolated parts. It is clear this isolation can harm populations of animals. In particular, there is evidence that the number of animals per unit area of habitat declines as the area of habitat decreases. The reasons why this occurs are poorly understood. A possible explanation for the effect of habitat area on population density is that animals in fragmented habitats have restricted access to variety in the foods they need to survive and reproduce. The proposed work will test the hypotheses that habitat fragmentation causes reduced population density by restricting access of animals to diversity in the foods. Researchers will conduct an experiment where one population of grasshoppers has access to a wide range of foods that vary in quality over space and time. Another population of the same size will be divided into subpopulations, each of which will have limited access to the total range of resources. Researchers will also construct mathematical models of fragmentation effects on interactions between consumers and resources. This work will improve the scientific foundation for decisions on human land-use world wide. In addition, we will use the project to provide research problems for interdisciplinary training to graduate students in mathematics, ecology, and statistics.