DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Predator-Prey Interaction in Aquatic Foodwebs

生态学的一个中心目标是确定物种内部和物种之间的相互作用如何决定生态系统的结构和功能。同类相食是一种常见的相互作用，对食物网的动态产生重要影响。许多物种通常是同类相食的，但它们自己也容易被捕食。尽管同类相食在动物界普遍存在，在大多数生态群落中也普遍存在，但同类相食对猎物和捕食-食饵系统动态的影响尚未被探索。本研究的目的是通过对蜻蜓幼虫的实地实验来确定同类相食对自然群落结构和动态的影响。这些结果将引起群落、种群和行为生态学家的广泛兴趣，因为它们将提供关于物种内部和物种之间的相互作用如何塑造自然群落的结构和动态的见解。该研究对保护生物学、疾病防治和农业具有重要意义，如预测入侵掠食性物种的影响，指导病虫害的生物防治。该项目将通过支持博士研究和让本科生参与山湖生物站的夏季研究，促进科研与教育的融合。

A central goal in ecology is to determine how within and across species interactions determine the structure and functioning of ecosystems. Cannibalism is a common interaction with important consequences to the dynamics of food webs. Many species are often cannibalistic, but they are also subject to predation themselves. Although cannibalism is widespread in the animal kingdom and ubiquitous in most ecological communities, its effects of cannibalism on the prey and on the dynamics of predator-prey systems have not been explored. The objective of this study is to use field experiments with dragonfly larvae to determine the consequences of cannibalism to the structure and dynamics of natural communities. These results will be of widespread interest to community, population and behavioral ecologists, because they will provide insights on how the interaction of within- and between-species processes shapes the structure and dynamics of natural communities. The research has also implication for conservation biology, disease control and agriculture such as predicting the impact of invasive predatory species and guiding the biological control of diseases and agricultural pests. The project will promote the integration of research and education by supporting doctoral research and including undergraduate students in summer research at Mountain Lake Biological Station.