CAREER: Incorporating spatial heterogeneity to study predator biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships within the urban landscape of Cleveland, OH

观察到的全球生物多样性的下降推动了将生物多样性与生态系统功能测量相联系的研究的快速增长。 例如，一般来说，生态系统中的物种总数（或物种丰富度）与其生产力之间存在正相关关系。然而，研究物种的子集，如捕食者和他们的猎物，往往不支持这些更普遍的趋势。如果没有更好的知识，在这个更精细的尺度上的机制，保护捕食者及其相关的生态系统功能是困难的。本计画将建立一个大规模的野外实验，以探讨城市斑块的物种丰富度和空间分布联合收割机如何结合，以影响捕食性节肢动物如何识别和捕捉猎物。有三个目标。首先是记录斑块和景观异质性如何影响节肢动物饮食的重叠，这将被用来作为衡量资源分区。第二是测试异质性的变化如何影响捕食量和模式。第三个是最终旨在通知保护计划和城市管理者，重点是捕食节肢动物如何在城市补丁之间分散，并可能作为城市中的生物控制剂的功能。克利夫兰，俄亥俄州是城市选择作为本研究的模型。克利夫兰拥有超过10，000个城市空地，该项目的研究活动将在其中64个空地内进行。关于空置土地管理的决定将在未来几十年内塑造市中心社区的生态和社会质量。因此，了解这些栖息地的生物组成，它们是如何分布的，以及它们如何影响重要的生物群体是一项至关重要的任务。该项目还将为高中学生提供动手的机会，进行实地生态研究，并成为参与一个新的猎物自助餐计划，沿着学习更可持续的城市园艺和农业实践，通过俄亥俄州州立大学硕士园丁专业化计划。

The observed decline in global biodiversity has fueled rapid growth in research linking biodiversity with measurements of ecosystem function. For example, generally positive associations are observed between the total number of species in an ecosystem (or species richness) and its productivity. However, studies that examine subsets of species, such as predators and their prey, often do not support these more general trends. Without greater knowledge of the mechanisms at this finer scale, conservation of predators and their associated ecosystem functions is difficult. This project will establish a large-scale field experiment to examine how the species richness and spatial distributions of urban patches combine to affect how predatory arthropods identify and capture prey. There are three objectives. The first is to document how patch and landscape heterogeneity affect overlap in arthropod diets, which will be used as a measure of resource partitioning. The second is to test how changes in heterogeneity affect predation amounts and patterns. The third is ultimately aimed at informing conservation programs and city managers by focusing on how predator arthropods disperse among urban patches and may serve a function as biocontrol agents in cities. Cleveland, Ohio is the city chosen as the model for this study. Cleveland contains over 10,000 vacant city lots and the research activities of this project will take place within 64 of these vacant parcels. Decisions regarding vacant land management will shape the ecological and social quality of inner-city neighborhoods for decades to come. Therefore, understanding the biological composition of these habitats, how they are distributed, and how they influence important biological groups is a critical task. This project will also provide hands-on opportunities for high school students to conduct field ecology research and become involved in a new Prey Buffet Program, along with learning about more sustainable urban gardening and farming practices though the Ohio State University Master Gardener Specialization Program.