Collaborative Research: LTREB: Impacts of Insect Herbivory on the Pace and Pattern of Primary Successional Change at Mount St. Helens

该项目将检验这样一种假设，即昆虫食草性是1980年圣海伦斯火山(MSH)灾难性喷发后影响生物系统恢复的一个未被认识的主要因素。这项工作将量化昆虫食草动物对两种关键的“生态系统工程”植物的影响：羽扇豆属植物，促进土壤发育；柳树，许多动物所需的三维植被结构的主要来源。它还将评估草食动物对鸟类和哺乳动物组合的影响。这项拟议的工作将把MSH对昆虫食草动物的影响的持续研究延长到18年，将哺乳动物群落的组装和对植被的响应的持续研究延长到28年，提供关于针叶林生物群中脊椎动物对灾难性干扰的响应的最全面的数据集。生物系统如何从火山喷发等灾难性干扰中恢复是基本了解动植物群落如何聚集和功能的基础，并为环境恢复提供理论基础。MSH提供了一个独特的机会来测试对从干扰中恢复的生态理解。这项工作建立在这一遗产的基础上，阐明了以前未被认识到的控制恢复的机制，并提供了未来科学家可以访问的长期记录。该项目还通过学生参与和与国家火山纪念碑及其非营利性伙伴圣海伦斯研究所的合作来加强科学教育。

This project will test the hypothesis that insect herbivory is an unrecognized major factor influencing recovery of biological systems following the catastrophic 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens (MSH). The work will quantify impacts of insect herbivores on two key "ecosystem engineering" plants: lupins, which facilitate soil development; and willows, the main source of three dimensional vegetation structure required by many animals. It will also evaluate the effects of herbivores on bird and mammal assemblages. The proposed work will extend the continuous study of insect herbivore impacts at MSH to 18 years, and of mammal community assembly and response to vegetation to 28 years, providing the most comprehensive data set on vertebrate response to catastrophic disturbance in the coniferous forest biome.How biological systems recover from catastrophic disturbances such as volcanic eruptions is fundamental to a basic understanding of how communities of plants and animals assemble and function, and provides the theoretical basis for environmental restoration. MSH has provided a unique opportunity to test ecological understanding of recovery from disturbance. This work builds on this legacy by elucidating previously unrecognized mechanisms controlling recovery, and by providing long-term records accessible to future scientists. The project also enhances science education through student involvement and work with the National Volcanic Monument and its non-profit partner, the Mount St. Helens Institute.