DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Connectivty and ecosystem function in experimental microcosm landscapes

在自然界中，生态系统的功能在空间上有很大的差异。有些生态系统极其多样化，而另一些生态系统只支持少数几个物种。生态学理论认为，个体在空间上的扩散对功能性生态系统的持续性至关重要，并预测，在某种中间水平的扩散下，个体可以殖民有利的栖息地斑块并维持功能性生态系统。这项研究将首次在复杂的社区中测试这些理论预测。研究人员将在实验室培养皿中构建微生物群落，以实施稳健的实验设计，其中包括有利和不利栖息地的斑块，并测量多种生态系统功能（生产力，呼吸，丰度）。在这些受控的微观世界中，研究人员可以施加广泛的分散水平。这些实验结合了自然群落中常见的复杂性，将测试扩散和分类动力学的重要性，并将产生必要的数据来修正现有的理论。人类正在导致生物体在生态系统中的运动发生重大变化。一些生态系统的连通性因生境的破碎化而下降，而另一些生态系统的连通性则因贸易和生境同质化的增加而变得更加紧密。要了解这些变化对生物多样性和生态系统服务提供的影响，需要对生态理论进行强有力的检验。与此同时，该研究将为农业生态系统中的害虫控制和保护提供信息。共同PI计划在奥斯汀公立学校的互动讲座，以连接科学与管理，并将培训本科生在他的研究的各个方面。最后，这些实验是八位研究人员从不同角度研究元生态学的强大国际合作的一部分。

In nature, ecosystem function varies extensively across space. Some ecosystems are extremely diverse while others support only a few species. Ecological theory suggests that dispersal of individuals across space is critical to the persistence of functional ecosystems and predicts that, at some intermediate level of dispersal, individuals can colonize favorable habitat patches and maintain functional ecosystems. The proposed research will be the first to test these theoretical predictions in complex communities. Researchers will construct communities of micro-organisms in laboratory petri dishes to implement a robust experimental design that includes patches of favorable and unfavorable habitats and that measures multiple ecosystem functions (productivity, respiration, abundance). In these controlled microcosms, the researchers can impose a wide range of dispersal levels. The experiments incorporate the complexity common in natural communities, will test the importance of dispersal and sorting dynamics, and will produce data necessary to revise existing theory.Humans are causing major changes to the movement of organisms across ecosystems. Some ecosystems are declining in connectivity through the fragmentation of habitat, while others are becoming more connected under increased rates of trade and habitat homogenization. Understanding the impacts of these changes on biodiversity and the provisioning of ecosystem services requires the robust testing of ecological theory. In parallel, the research will inform pest control and conservation in agro-ecosystems. The co-PI plans interactive lectures in Austin public schools to link science with management and will train undergraduate students in all aspects of his research. Finally, the experiments are part of a strong international collaboration among eight researchers who study metacommunity ecology from different perspectives.