Collaborative Research: Resource ratio effects on stream detritus and detritivores

合作研究：资源比例对河流碎屑和碎屑动物的影响

• 批准号: 1020722
• 负责人: Michelle Evans-White
• 金额: $ 30.23万
• 依托单位: University of Arkansas
• 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: 2010-09-01 至 2014-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1020722&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Resource; ratio; effects

Anthropogenic nutrient enrichment of ecosystems is a global phenomenon that often negatively affects ecological communities leading to lower biodiversity. Elevated nutrients can alter the proportion of nutritional elements such as carbon and phosphorus in food resources and can influence the diversity and type of species present in ecosystems. Many aquatic species have evolved to use low quality leaf litter as food resources (i.e., detritivores); these species are adapted to a diet that has a high ratio of carbon relative to phosphorus. When phosphorus levels in food resources are elevated, as is often the case in human-enriched aquatic ecosystems, the growth of some detritivore species may be negatively impacted due to an increased energetic cost of eliminating excess phosphorus from their bodies. This counter-intuitive, negative effect of elevated nutrients on consumer growth may lead to the loss of detritivore species from aquatic ecosystems. This project will determine whether changes in the ratio of carbon to phosphorus in detrital resources result in predictable effects on growth of insect detritivore species across an enrichment gradient in Ozark Highland streams. The research will combine laboratory experiments with an analysis of a regional data set on stream ecosystems to determine whether anthropogenic phosphorus enrichment of detrital resources is having direct negative effects on aquatic detritivore species diversity.Results from this project will provide a more thorough understanding of the ways that nutrient enrichment can impact stream systems, information that is useful to improved management of these ecosystems. Through outreach to watershed groups and state agencies, the results of this research will be communicated to the local community and natural resource managers. The proposed activity will support research training and career development of graduate and undergraduate students, including members of under-represented groups. This project represents a collaboration of two beginning investigators from a research university and a primarily undergraduate university.

生态系统的人为营养富集是一种全球现象，通常会对生态社区产生负面影响，从而导致生物多样性降低。 养分升高会改变食品资源中碳和磷等营养元素的比例，并可能影响生态系统中存在的多样性和类型。 许多水生物种已经演变为使用低质量的叶子作为食物资源（即碎屑）；这些物种适用于相对于磷的含量较高的饮食。 当粮食资源中的磷水平升高时，正如人类富集的水生生态系统中通常情况下，由于消除从其体内消除过量磷的能量成本增加，某些碎屑物种的生长可能会受到负面影响。 养分升高对消费者生长的这种违反直觉的负面影响可能导致水生生态系统损失。 该项目将确定在碎屑资源中碳与磷的比率是否变化会导致对昆虫碎屑物种在Ozark Highland溪流中富集梯度中的生长产生可预测的影响。 这项研究将将实验室实验与对流生态系统上的区域数据设置的分析相结合，以确定人为磷的富集是否直接对水生趋势的物种多样性产生直接负面影响。该项目的水生物种多样性将提供对富含营养能够影响流媒体系统的信息，以使这些ecosys的信息有用。 通过向分水岭团体和州机构进行宣传，这项研究的结果将与当地社区和自然资源经理传达。 拟议的活动将支持研究生和本科生的研究培训和职业发展，包括代表性不足的群体成员。 该项目代表了研究大学和一所本科大学的两名初学者的合作。