Ecological and evolutionary impacts of ecosystem engineering: Wood-boring beetles, arboreal ants, and trophic interactions in Brazilian cerrado

生态系统工程的生态和进化影响：巴西塞拉多的蛀木甲虫、树栖蚂蚁和营养相互作用

• 批准号: 0842144
• 负责人: Robert Marquis
• 金额: $ 45.16万
• 依托单位: University of Missouri-Saint Louis
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-01-01 至 2013-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0842144&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Ecological; evolutionary; impacts; ecosystem; engineering

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Some organisms have impacts on the ecosystems in which they live that are much greater than would be expected based on their abundance or biomass. The goal of this study is to understand the influence of wood-boring beetles on associated ant species that live in the cavities made by those beetles, and also quantify the effect of those ants on their insect prey and the plants upon which they live. The study will be conducted in the savannah region of Brazil, where insect and plant diversity are high, but the tree canopy is sufficiently low to the ground that manipulations can be carried out at the tree level. Experimental and observational studies will be conducted to determine (1) the impact of tree size and density on the relationship between wood-boring beetles, cavity-nesting ants, their prey, and the plants on which they live, (2) the impact of variability in cavity size on these relationships, and (3) how wood-boring beetles have influenced the evolution of the ants, which depend on beetle-produced cavities for shelter and rearing their offspring. This study will provide unique information about the relationship between animals that modify their environment, in this case the beetles, and those that are influenced by such modification. By clarifying the mechanistic basis for how one species influences the number of other kinds of animals in the environment, the study will provide important insight into how species are maintained in complex natural systems. The proposed project will provide unique summer research opportunities for three undergraduates, targeting females and underrepresented minorities, and highly valuable training for a postdoctoral researcher. The project will also foster strong international collaboration and help solidify a lasting USA-Brazilian institutional link.

该奖项根据 2009 年《美国复苏和再投资法案》（公法 111-5）提供资金。一些生物体对其所生活的生态系统的影响远远大于根据其丰度或生物量所预期的影响。这项研究的目的是了解蛀木甲虫对生活在这些甲虫形成的空腔中的相关蚂蚁物种的影响，并量化这些蚂蚁对其昆虫猎物和它们赖以生存的植物的影响。这项研究将在巴西的大草原地区进行，那里的昆虫和植物多样性很高，但树冠距离地面足够低，可以在树的水平上进行操作。将进行实验和观察研究，以确定（1）树木大小和密度对蛀木甲虫、空巢蚂蚁、它们的猎物和它们赖以生存的植物之间关系的影响，（2）空腔大小的变化对这些关系的影响，以及（3）蛀木甲虫如何影响蚂蚁的进化，蚂蚁依赖甲虫产生的空腔来庇护和抚养后代。这项研究将提供有关改变环境的动物（在本例中为甲虫）与受这种改变影响的动物之间关系的独特信息。通过阐明一种物种如何影响环境中其他种类动物数量的机制基础，该研究将为了解物种如何在复杂的自然系统中维持提供重要的见解。拟议的项目将为三名本科生提供独特的夏季研究机会，针对女性和代表性不足的少数族裔，并为博士后研究员提供非常有价值的培训。该项目还将促进强有力的国际合作，并帮助巩固美国与巴西之间持久的机构联系。