Biodiversity and ecological function of northern terrestrial arthropods

从社会、经济和生态的角度来看，加拿大北部都很重要。北方人民、土地和野生动物的活力和福祉取决于生物多样性，以及分布在全国各地的物种的多样性和变异性。生物多样性主要是昆虫和蜘蛛及其近亲(节肢动物)。这些动物对北极做出了重大贡献，无论是作为野生动物的食物，作为关键的传粉者，作为较小动物的捕食者，还是作为令人讨厌的害虫。当我们在北方面临环境挑战时，了解节肢动物之间的联系及其功能和重要性至关重要，无论是气候变化还是北方发展。这项长期研究计划将量化生活在北部冻土带生态系统中的陆地昆虫和蜘蛛的生物多样性、营养结构和生态重要性。这项研究计划有四个短期目标：(1)描述和实验生态学方法，以及分子方法，将用于量化北极重点研究区域(剑桥湾，努纳武特)陆地节肢动物之间的取食联系，从而建立对冻土带昆虫和蜘蛛之间的“互动网”的深刻理解。(2)根据第一个目标开发的模式系统将用于评估昆虫和蜘蛛之间的相互作用如何随着北方生物群的关键转变--北方北方森林与育空地区亚北极生境之间的转变而变化。(3)这项研究将通过试验两个模式系统来测试苔原节肢动物在食物网中的功能重要性：植物-传粉者群落(即以蜜蜂和苍蝇为主)和通用捕食者群落(即以蜘蛛为主)。(4)最后，这项研究将通过在剑桥湾附近的冻土带建造气候室来测试气候变化对昆虫和蜘蛛的影响--这将使人们有机会直接评估冻土带变暖对节肢动物的影响。更广泛地说，这项研究将有助于了解北方物种的自然历史，并将包括与北方社区的外联、教育和知识分享。这项研究将培养本科生和研究生成为具有生物多样性科学专门知识的生态学家和昆虫学家，包括野外工作、数据管理和分析以及科学交流。这项计划将有助于发展对昆虫和蜘蛛在我们冻土带栖息地所做的机械理解。这些小动物如何相互联系，以及如何与我们的生态系统的其他部分联系起来，是至关重要的工作，也是我们考虑保护北极生物多样性的基础。只有我们努力了解物种之间的联系，我们才能定位于面对加拿大北部未来的挑战。

Canada's north is important from social, economic and ecological perspectives. The vitality and wellbeing of northern peoples, the land, and the wildlife is dependent on biodiversity, the variety and variation of species distributed across the country. Biodiversity is dominated insects and spiders and their relatives (the arthropods). These animals contribute in significant ways to the Arctic, whether as food for wildlife, as key pollinators, as predators of smaller animals, or as nuisance pests. Understanding the connections between arthropods, and their functional importance, is essential as we face environmental challenges in the northern, whether by climate change, or northern development. This long-term research program will quantify the biodiversity, trophic structure, and ecological importance of terrestrial insects and spiders living in northern tundra ecosystems. There are four short-term objectives for this research program: (1) descriptive and experimental ecological methods, and molecular approaches, will be used to quantify the feeding links between terrestrial arthropods in a focal study area in the Arctic (Cambridge Bay, Nunavut), and thus build a strong understanding of the `interaction web' among tundra-dwelling insects and spiders. (2) The model system developed from the first objective will be used to assess how the interactions between insects and spiders changes along a critical biome transition in the North - the transition between the northern boreal forest and the sub-arctic habitats found in the Yukon Territory (3) The research will test the functional importance of tundra arthropods in food-webs by experimenting with two model systems: plant-pollinator communities (i.e., dominated by bees and flies) and generalist predator communities (i.e., dominated by spiders). (4) Finally, the research will test the effects of climate change on insects and spiders by constructing climate-chambers in the tundra near Cambridge Bay - this will allow an opportunity to directly assess how warming the tundra affects arthropods. More generally, this research will contribute to understanding the natural history of northern species, and will include outreach, education and knowledge sharing with northern communities This research will train undergraduate and graduate students to become ecologists and entomologists with expertise in biodiversity science, including field work, data management and analysis, and science communication. This program will help develop a mechanistic understanding of what insects and spiders are doing in our tundra habitats. How these small animals are connected to each other, and to other parts our ecosystems, is critically important work, and foundational when we think about conservation of Arctic biodiversity. Only once we work to understand the connections between species can we be positioned to face the challenges ahead for Canada's north.