U.S.-Chile Dissertation Enhancement: Dispersal, Competition, and the Synergistic Interactions of Multiple Species Invasions

在这个由美国国际科学与工程办公室美洲项目支持的美国-智利论文强化项目中，芝加哥大学的约翰·伍顿和丽莎·内利斯将开展一个研究项目，采用实地实验和建模相结合的方法，调查非本地食草动物（兔子）如何影响被非本地植物（兔子）入侵的植物群落结构。在智利鲁滨逊克鲁索岛上进行的研究将解决(1)控制入侵率和模式的机制，(2)家畜学在本地和非本地植物种子传播中的作用，以及(3)非本地生物之间协同作用和跨营养相互作用的潜力。这项研究将与智利天主教大学的何塞·米格尔·法里纳·里瓦斯（Jose Miguel Farina Rivas）以及智利国家公园管理局（CONAF）合作完成。人们对不同外来物种的相互作用知之甚少，这项工作将对岛屿生态系统的管理产生重大影响。该项目侧重于一个对保护本地生物群相当重要的主题，并将促进美国和智利生态学家之间的良好合作。在研究的每一年，所有新数据、结果和出版物的副本都将保存在所有参与者和非洲经委会的档案中，以供他们记录，并在为保护和恢复岛屿申请资金时使用。

Proposal 0456110PI WoottonIn this U.S.-Chile dissertation-enhancement project supported by the Americas Program of the Office of International Science and Engineering, John Wootton and Lisa Nelis of the University of Chicago will pursue a program of research using a combination of field experiments and modeling to investigate how a non-indigenous herbivore (a rabbit) affects the structure of plant communities invaded by a non-indigenous plant (trun). Research conducted on Robinson Crusoe Island, Chile will address (1) mechanisms that control rates and patterns of invasion, (2) the role of epizoochory in dispersal of seeds of native and non-indigenous plants, and (3) the potential for synergistic, cross-trophic interactions among non-indigenous organisms. This research will be done in collaboration with Jose Miguel Farina Rivas from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and CONAF, the Chilean counterpart to the US National Park Service.Interactive effects of different exotic species are poorly understood, and this work will have significant implications for managing an island ecosystem. The project focuses on a topic of considerable importance to conservation of native biota and will facilitate an excellent collaboration between American and Chilean ecologists. Each year of the study, copies of all new data, results, and publications will be archived with all participants, and with CONAF for their records and for their use in applications for funding for conservation and restoration of the islands.