RAPID: Consequences of extreme weather events for urban arthropod communities: Effects of Hurricane Sandy on ecosystem processes and the spread of exotic species in New York City

由于全球气候变化，极端天气事件的频率预计将增加。飓风桑迪以狂风、暴雨和风暴潮摧毁了纽约市。这场风暴造成的人员和经济损失是创纪录的，但生态损失却不为人知。节肢动物，如昆虫和蜘蛛，是城市中数量最多、种类最多的动物。它们执行许多重要的服务，如分解人类垃圾，但它们也可能是建筑物和植物的害虫。这项工作的目标是了解飓风桑迪如何改变纽约市的节肢动物群落，以及这些变化如何影响它们提供的服务或有害服务。城市节肢动物群落由本地和外来物种组成。它们生活在压力较大的栖息地，如道路中央，但也存在于压力较小的栖息地，如公园。生态学理论预测，在飓风桑迪这样的大干扰之后，外来物种应该会变得更加丰富，而本土物种应该会变得更少。其他理论预测，生活在压力较大的栖息地的动物应该比生活在压力较小的栖息地的动物更能适应干扰。也许飓风过后，一个地区昆虫物种的变化会扰乱食物网，减少它们提供的有益服务。同样，干扰可能会导致一些害虫物种的数量激增，因为它们不再受到捕食者的控制。这项研究工作将揭示实际发生的情况。这项工作对于了解城市环境中的植物和动物将如何应对增加的人类人口以及可能出现的更多和更强的与气候变化相关的飓风非常重要。这项工作将在公共区域进行，调查人员将定期与纽约市市民互动，并向他们解释他们正在做什么。他们还将创建一个专门的网站并提供公开演示文稿，以增加公众对城市生态、全球变化和相关主题的了解。

The frequency of extreme weather events is predicted to increase due to global climate change. Hurricane Sandy devastated New York City (NYC) with high winds, rain, and storm surge. The human and economic toll of this storm was record-breaking but the ecological toll is unknown. Arthropods, such as insects and spiders, are the most abundant and diverse animals in cities. They perform many important services, such as decomposing human refuse, but they can also be pests of buildings and plants. The goal of this work is to understand how Hurricane Sandy changed arthropod communities in New York City and how these changes affect the services or disservices they provide. Urban arthropod communities consist of native and exotic species. They exist in stressful habitats, such as road medians, but also in less stressful habitats such as parks. Ecological theories predict that exotic species should become more abundant and native species less abundant after big disturbances like Hurricane Sandy. Other theories predict that animals living in stressful habitats should be more resilient to disturbances than animals living in less stressful habitats. Perhaps changes in insect species that occur in an area after a hurricane will upset food webs and reduce the beneficial services they provide. Likewise, disturbances may allow populations of some pest species to explode because they are no longer kept in check by predators. This research work will reveal what actually happens.This work is important for understanding how plants and animals in urban environments will respond to increased human populations and to potentially more and stronger hurricanes associated with climate change. The work will be conducted in in public areas, where the investigators will regularly interact with the citizens of NYC and explain to them what they are doing. They will also create a dedicated website and provide public presentations to increase public understanding of urban ecology, global change, and related topics.