Dynamics and stability of freshwater resource-consumer systems: testing mechanisms from structured theory

关于生物种群动态的生态学理论是一个强有力的工具，我们可以用它来解释在各种生态环境中物种丰度随时间和空间的变化。 这种理解通常可用于解决有关疾病或病原体传播、物种种群保护或资源管理的重要应用问题。我研究的主要目标是发展这一理论，并测试我们解释不同环境中生物种群动态的基本特性（例如周期的存在或不存在，不规则波动或种群稳定性）的能力。淡水藻类-草食动物系统是这一企业的理想选择。 我们有大量的定量信息的生理，行为和生活史的个人，我们可以用来构建结构化的人口模型，他们的动态相互作用。 我们可以在简单的社区中进行操纵实验，以严格测试导致不同类型种群动态的一般机制。 最后，我们可以通过改变食物网结构或空间变异性来增加生态复杂性，并在更现实的条件下测试我们捕捉动态的能力。在我提出的研究中，我评估（1）淡水消费者生活史中的一般特征是否决定了我们在许多系统中观察到的种群动态类型，（2）是否循环的元素，耦合或解耦藻类草食动物的相互作用可能发挥关键作用的稳定性，资源消费者的相互作用，以及（3）是否我们的理解人口过程（增长，扩散和平流）可以解释如何空间格局出现和演变的时间在藻类食草动物系统。

Ecological theory on the dynamics of biological populations is a powerful tool that we can use to explain variation in the abundance of species over time and space in a variety of ecological settings.  Often this understanding can be used to solve important applied problems concerning spread of diseases or pathogens, conservation of species populations, or management of resources. The major goal of my research is to develop this theory and test our ability to explain fundamental properties of the dynamics of biological populations (e.g. presence or absence of cycles, irregular fluctuations, or population stability) in different environments.Freshwater algal-herbivore systems are ideal for this enterprise.  We have extensive quantitative information on the physiology, behaviour, and life-history of individuals that we can use to construct structured population models for their dynamic interactions.  We can perform manipulation experiments in simple communities to test rigorously general mechanisms causing different types of population dynamics.  Finally, we can add ecological complexity by modifying food-web structure or spatial variability and test our ability to capture the dynamics under more realistic conditions.In my proposed research, I evaluate (1) whether general features in the life-history of freshwater consumers determine the type of population dynamics that we observe in many systems, (2) whether recycling of elements that act to couple or decouple algal-herbivore interactions may play a key role in stability of the resource-consumer interaction, and (3) whether our understanding of population processes (growth, dispersal, and advection) can explain how spatial patterns emerge and evolve over time in algal-grazer systems.