Collaborative Research: Linking Dispersal to Landscape-level Dynamics of a Predator and Prey

原生栖息地的碎片化和丧失与全世界生物多样性的下降有关。因此，生物在栖息地碎片之间的运动对其持久性至关重要。描述生物在真实景观中的运动行为是令人生畏和费力的，特别是当考虑到捕食者及其猎物等相互作用的物种时。通过之前的NSF资助，克罗宁已经积累了关于景观结构(碎片大小、隔离和周围栖息地的组成)如何影响存在于高草草原物种(草原线草)的离散斑块中的稻飞虱及其主要捕食者(寄生蜂)的运动行为的综合数据集。主要目标是开发一个空间现实的、景观水平的模型，该模型将揭示栖息地碎片化和丧失以及外来植物入侵对捕食者-被捕食者种群持续生存的影响的机制。景观模型将使用克罗宁获得的移动数据进行开发。开发这一模型的一个主要目标是创建一套可应用于广泛的捕食者-猎物系统的软件程序。希望这些计划将导致更知情的景观水平的方法，为受威胁或濒危物种制定成功的保护战略。该项目将为北达科他州的2名博士生和4-6名本科生提供培训。将鼓励学生在研究中发挥领导作用。这两个私人投资机构都将教授关于栖息地碎片化对生物多样性和景观建模影响的课程。

Fragmentation and loss of native habitats have been implicated in the decline of biodiversity worldwide. As a consequence, movement of organisms among habitat fragments is essential for their persistence. Characterizing the movement behavior of organisms in real landscapes is daunting and laborious, especially when considering interacting species such as a predator and its prey. Through previous NSF funding, Cronin has amassed a comprehensive data set on how landscape structure (fragment size, isolation, and composition of surrounding habitat) affects the movement behavior of a planthopper and its primary predator (a parasitoid) that exist among discrete patches of a tall-grass prairie species (prairie cordgrass). The main objective is to develop a spatially realistic, landscape-level model that will reveal the mechanisms underlying the effects of habitat fragmentation and loss, and the invasion of exotic plant species on the persistence of predator-prey populations. The landscape model will be developed using movement data obtained by Cronin. A primary goal in the development of this model is to create a suite of software programs that can be applied to a wide range of predator-prey systems. It is hoped that these programs will lead to a more informed landscape-level approach to developing successful conservation strategies for threatened or endangered species. This project will provide training for 2 PhD students and 4-6 undergraduates in North Dakota. Students will be encouraged to play a leadership role in the research. Both PIs will teach courses that address the effects of habitat fragmentation on biodiversity and on landscape modeling.