Dissertation Research: Experiments on multiple factors affecting Pinaceae invasions on Isla Victoria, Nahuel Huapi National Park, Argentina.

生物入侵是对生物多样性的重大威胁，并造成许多社会和经济问题。这项研究将研究是什么控制了阿根廷岛屿上的植物入侵，一个世纪前，这里种植了135多种外来树种。其中有许多物种被认为是入侵者。令人惊讶的是，这些物种几乎没有入侵过这个岛上的原生森林。初步的观察和实验提出了三种可能的、非排他性的假设来解释这种入侵：没有合适的互惠共生的根部真菌，外来鹿吃草食，啮齿动物消耗种子。这个项目需要实验和实验室分析来验证这些假设。这项研究将使用种植在不同地点的种子，在添加和不添加互惠根真菌的情况下，啮齿动物的封育，以及对鹿和啮齿动物的偏好实验，看看哪些因素可以解释观察到的缺乏入侵的现象。21世纪预计将带来这个星球上有史以来最大的生物多样性损失之一。入侵物种主要由人类协助，是对生物多样性的最大威胁之一，也造成了巨大的经济损失。因此，为了保护生物多样性和有效管理外来物种，了解入侵的调控机制是至关重要的，这是本研究的目标。此外，这项研究还将检验各种生态学假说，这将有助于生态科学的进步，因为引入一个物种构成了一个大规模的自然实验。

Biological invasions are a major threat to biodiversity and create many social and economic problems. This research will study what controls plant invasions on an Argentinean island where a century ago 135+ exotic tree species were planted in large numbers. Among them were many species famous as invaders. Surprisingly few of these species have invaded native forest on this island. Preliminary observations and experiments suggest three likely, non-exclusive hypotheses for this dearth of invasion: absence of suitable mutualistic root-fungi, herbivory by exotic deer, and consumption of seeds by rodents. This project entails experiments and laboratory analyses to test these hypotheses. This research will use seeds planted in different locations with and without addition of mutualistic root-fungi, rodent exclosures, and preference experiments for both deer and rodents to see which factors explain the observed lack of invasion. The 21st century is expected to bring one of the biggest losses of biodiversity this planet has ever seen. Invasive species, mostly assisted by humans, are one of the greatest threats to biodiversity and also produce huge economic losses. Therefore, to conserve biodiversity and manage exotic species effectively, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms regulating invasion; this is the goal of this study. In addition, this research will test various ecological hypotheses, which will contribute to the progress of ecological sciences, since introduction of a species constitutes a large-scale natural experiment.