Dissertation Research: Using networks to understand seed dispersal mutualisms and the impacts of invasive species on remote oceanic islands in French Polynesia

论文研究：利用网络了解种子传播互利共生以及入侵物种对法属波利尼西亚偏远海洋岛屿的影响

• 批准号: 1011697
• 负责人: James Bartolome
• 金额: $ 1.5万
• 依托单位: University of California-Berkeley
• 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: 2010-07-15 至 2011-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1011697&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; Using; networks; understand

As an indirect effect of consuming fruit, birds often transport plant seeds to locations distant from the original plants. This dispersal is critical for plants that cannot move their seeds without assistance. In the context of a community, the connections between birds and plants are analogous to social networks, with nodes representing plant species that are connected by the links (bird dispersal) between them. The arrival of invasive species can alter the connections between native species, disrupting these critical relationships. This project investigates how species invasions are altering the structure of seed dispersal networks in French Polynesia. Birds will be captured and fecal samples collected in order to characterize diet on two islands that vary in the degree of invasion by a fruit-bearing tree. Additionally, experiments with birds in aviaries will be used in order to discover how the abundance of an invasive species influences the dietary decisions of birds, and thus the role birds play in seed dispersal. The control of invasive species is one of the most critical conservation issues facing resource managers globally. This project will inform invasive species control in French Polynesia through collaboration with local scientists and managers. The investigators provide data to two offices in the French Polynesian government. The project is also the first to gather systematic data on the status of a protected Fruit Dove, which is found on only a few islands in French Polynesia, providing information that is essential for conservation of this vulnerable species. Three French Polynesian and one American student will gain research experience while participating in field data collection, and one of the investigators is helping to develop curriculum and teaching in two classes of underprivileged 5th graders on the island of Moorea. The project is dedicated to developing close collaborative relationships with French Polynesian researchers, and provides tissue samples for the Moorea Biocode project, a program involving over 150 scientists from all over the world to DNA barcode every organism on the island of Moorea.

作为食用水果的间接影响，鸟类经常将植物种子运输到远离原始植物的地方。这种传播对于那些在没有帮助的情况下无法移动种子的植物至关重要。在社区的背景下，鸟类和植物之间的联系类似于社交网络，其中的节点代表植物物种，通过它们之间的链接（鸟类传播）连接起来。入侵物种的到来可能会改变本地物种之间的联系，破坏这些重要的关系。该项目调查物种入侵如何改变法属波利尼西亚种子传播网络的结构。将捕获鸟类并收集粪便样本，以表征两个岛屿上果树入侵程度不同的饮食特征。此外，还将利用鸟舍中的鸟类进行实验，以发现入侵物种的丰富程度如何影响鸟类的饮食决定，以及鸟类在种子传播中所扮演的角色。控制入侵物种是全球资源管理者面临的最关键的保护问题之一。该项目将通过与当地科学家和管理人员的合作，为法属波利尼西亚的入侵物种控制提供信息。调查人员向法属波利尼西亚政府的两个办公室提供数据。该项目也是第一个收集有关受保护果鸠状况的系统数据的项目，该项目仅在法属波利尼西亚的几个岛屿上发现，为保护这一脆弱物种提供了至关重要的信息。三名法属波利尼西亚学生和一名美国学生将在参与实地数据收集的同时获得研究经验，其中一名研究人员正在帮助莫雷阿岛贫困五年级学生的两个班级开发课程和教学。该项目致力于与法属波利尼西亚研究人员建立密切的合作关系，并为莫雷阿岛生物代码项目提供组织样本，该项目涉及来自世界各地的 150 多名科学家，旨在为莫雷阿岛上的每种生物体建立 DNA 条形码。