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，常常对生态群落产生负面影响，导致生物多样性降低。 营养物质升高可以改变食物资源中碳和磷等营养元素的比例，并可以影响生态系统中物种的多样性和类型。 许多水生物种已经进化到使用低质量的落叶层作为食物资源（即食碎屑动物）；这些物种适应碳磷比例较高的饮食。 当食物资源中的磷含量升高时（在人类丰富的水生生态系统中经常出现这种情况），一些食腐动物物种的生长可能会受到负面影响，因为从体内消除多余磷的能量成本增加。 营养物质增加对消费者增长的这种违反直觉的负面影响可能会导致水生生态系统中食腐动物物种的丧失。 该项目将确定碎屑资源中碳磷比例的变化是否会对奥扎克高地溪流富集梯度中食碎屑昆虫物种的生长产生可预测的影响。 该研究将实验室实验与对河流生态系统区域数据集的分析相结合，以确定碎屑资源的人为磷富集是否对水生碎屑动物物种多样性产生直接负面影响。该项目的结果将提供对这些方式的更全面的了解。营养物富集会影响河流系统，这些信息有助于改善这些生态系统的管理。 通过与流域团体和国家机构的联系，这项研究的结果将传达给当地社区和自然资源管理者。 拟议的活动将支持研究生和本科生（包括代表性不足群体的成员）的研究培训和职业发展。 该项目是来自一所研究型大学和一所本科大学的两名初级研究人员的合作。