QEIB: Quantifying and Testing Coexistence Mechanisms

解释生活在地球上任何一个地方的物种的多样性是生态学和进化生物学的难题。这个问题的关键是理解通过允许竞争物种彼此共存来抑制物种损失的机制。虽然已经提出了许多物种共存的理论机制，但在实地测试这些机制是非常困难的。因此，对于在任何一个地点实行何种机制，以及何种机制更普遍地最为重要，仍然存在很大的争议。该项目将开发测试物种共存机制的强大新方法。研究成果将是新的实验设计和相关的物种共存机制的统计检验。 这项工作是基于PI和合作者在量化假设在可变环境中重要的物种共存机制的优势方面的最新进展。 这项工作的一个主要组成部分将是物种共存机制的理论研究，以更好地理解超越当前模型的复杂情况。 这项研究的结果也将有助于土地管理和物种保护工作的决策者。该项目的一个重要方面将是培训青年研究人员掌握数量生态学的数学和统计技能。该项目将延续PI实验室的优良传统，培养一批来自代表性不足群体的多元化青年科学家。

Explaining the diversity of species living in any one locality on the earth is a difficult problem in ecology and evolutionary biology. Critical to this problem is understanding the mechanisms that inhibit species loss by allowing competing species to coexist with one another. Although many theoretical mechanisms of species coexistence have been proposed, testing these mechanisms in the field with confidence has been extremely difficult. Hence, there is still much controversy over which mechanisms operate in any one location, and which mechanisms are most important more generally. This project will develop powerful new ways of testing species coexistence mechanisms. The research products will be new experimental designs and associated statistical tests for species coexistence mechanisms. This work is based on recent advances by the PI and collaborators in quantifying the strengths of species coexistence mechanisms hypothesized to be important in variable environments. A major component of this work will be theoretical investigations of species coexistence mechanisms to achieve a better understanding of complex situations that go beyond current models. The results of this research will also be useful to policy makers regarding land management and species conservation efforts. An important aspect of this project will be the training of young researchers in quantitative ecological skills, both mathematical and statistical. This project will continue a strong tradition in the PI's lab of training a diverse group of young scientists with strong representation from under-represented groups.