Understanding diversity pattersn and their relation to fundamental niche differentiation among species

生态学家经常对群落中共同存在的物种之间的差异程度做出简化的假设。这样的假设是必要的，因为大多数物种的生态细节仍然未知。从传统生态位理论中衍生出来的一个被广泛接受的假设是，共存的物种差异很大，它们各自的分布和丰度主要由当地环境的适宜性决定，与其他物种的竞争或区域尺度的过程（如扩散）的影响最小。在实践中，这种“环境决定论”假设将在不同程度上被违背，这对基础生态学和应用生态学研究都有影响。我的研究使用了数据挖掘技术和生态群落的计算机模拟，以确定我们应该期望环境决定论假设在何时、何地以及在多大程度上被违反。它还试图了解违反环境决定论假设可能如何影响生态学预测模型的性能，例如用于全球变化研究和环境监测和评估计划的预测模型。

Ecologists often make simplifying assumptions about the degree to which species that are found together within communities differ from one-another. Such assumptions are necessary because details concerning the ecologies of most species remain unknown. One widely held assumption, which stems from conventional niche theory, is that coexisting species are different enough that their respective distributions and abundances are governed primarily by the suitability of the local environment, and only minimally by competition with other species, or by regional-scale processes such as dispersal. In practice, this 'environmental determinism' assumption will be violated to varying degrees, and this has implications for both basic and applied ecology research. My research uses both data-mining techniques and computer simulations of ecological communities to ascertain when, where, and by how much we should expect the environmental determinism assumption to be violated. It also seeks to understand how violations of the environmental determinism assumption might affect the performance of predictive models in ecology, such as those used in global change research, and in environmental monitoring and assessment programs.