Indirect effects of apex predators in a grassland ecosystem

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。尽管有兴趣和辩论，顶级捕食者在陆地生态系统中的重要性在很大程度上仍然没有得到解决。 尽管捕食者可以强烈抑制猎物的丰富度，但目前尚不清楚这些直接影响如何通过食物网间接影响植物群落和生态系统。 目前还不清楚捕食者是否通过影响其食草性猎物的丰度或行为来影响植物的生产力和多样性。研究将探讨鸟类和哺乳动物捕食者如何影响小型哺乳动物3种组合的生存，行为和丰度。 反过来，它将被确定如何影响植物丰度，草地生产力，群落组成和外来植物入侵的存在和不存在的捕食者的啮齿动物组合。 这项研究将揭示天然草地生态系统的结构化过程，为维护和恢复这些社区及其在外来植物入侵和人为干扰面前提供的生态系统服务提供必要的信息。 此外，这项研究将通过为本科生提供结构化的研究经验，为美洲原住民学生提供机会，并通过黑脚挑战，当地牧场主，政府科学家和非政府组织的联盟，其目标是保护蒙大拿州的农村生活方式和保护栖息地的教师培训，推进教育目标。 最后，研究将为管理将要进行实验的土地的州和联邦生物学家提供相关的监测信息。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Despite interest and debate, the importance of top predators in terrestrial ecosystems remains largely unresolved. Although predators can strongly suppress the abundance of their prey, it is unclear is how these direct effects ripple through food webs to indirectly influence plant communities and ecosystems. It remains unclear whether predators influence plant productivity and diversity by influencing the abundance or behavior of their herbivorous prey. Research will examine how avian and mammalian predators influence the survival, behavior and abundance of a 3-species assemblage of small mammals. In-turn, it will be determined how this rodent assemblage influences plant abundance, grassland productivity, community composition and exotic plant invasion in the presence and absence of predators. This study will reveal processes structuring natural grassland ecosystems, providing information essential for maintaining and restoring these communities and the ecosystem services they provide in the face of exotic plant invasions and anthropogenic disturbances. Additionally, this research will advance educational goals by providing structured research experiences for undergraduates, opportunities for Native American students, and teacher training through the Blackfoot Challenge, a consortium of local ranchers, government scientists, and NGOs whose goal is to preserve the rural lifestyle and protect habitat in Montana. Finally, research will provide pertinent monitoring information for State and Federal biologists who manage the lands where experiments will be conducted.