Collaborative Research: the influence of predators on community structure and resultant ecosystem functioning at a biogeographic scale

合作研究：捕食者对生物地理尺度上的群落结构和生态系统功能的影响

• 批准号: 1338372
• 负责人: David Kimbro
• 金额: $ 7.56万
• 依托单位: Northeastern University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-02-07 至 2014-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1338372&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; influence; predators; community

Predators structure ecological communities by consuming and altering the traits of prey, yet these effects have only recently been linked to local variation in ecosystem functions such as primary production and nutrient cycling. Such linkages may operate differently across biogeographic scales because factors known to affect local predator mechanisms also vary with latitude. The mismatch between knowledge of how predators locally affect ecosystem functions and the biogeographic range at which predator-prey interactions occur inhibits understanding of linkages between ecological communities and ecosystems, and thus our ability to manage valuable ecosystem services. Intertidal oyster reefs provide a model system to address this knowledge gap: they occur throughout the mid-Atlantic and Gulf coasts; they contain a similar food-web assemblage across latitudinal gradients in predation, resource supplies, and environmental conditions; they are strongly influenced by predator effects; and they influence sediment and nutrient cycles by enhancing benthic-pelagic coupling. This research involves a series of standardized sampling and experimental studies to: (1) investigate biogeographic patterns in oyster food web structure, resource supplies, environmental conditions, and sediment properties associated with reef function (2) determine how the vital rates of oysters, which can influence benthic-pelagic coupling, vary geographically; and (3) examine experimentally the relative importance of consumptive and non-consumptive predator effects on oyster reef communities and the ecosystem processes they provide and how these effects vary latitudinally. It will provide a mechanistic understanding of the basis for biogeographical shifts in valuable ecosystem services performed by an important marine foundation species, and it will also advance understanding of the interactions between predator effects in food webs and the ecosystem processes that depend on them.By linking predator effects and benthic-pelagic coupling on oyster reefs in a biogeographic context, this research will provide valuable information to resource managers charged with restoring oyster reefs and recovering ecosystem services. By promoting the exchange of conceptual and methodological ideas among research groups at four major research universities, this project has already and will continue to foster interdisciplinary expertise among its investigators as well as their future graduate and undergraduate students. In addition to mentoring a post-doc, this research will prepare at least three graduate and three undergraduate students for scientific careers by having them independently develop projects related to the project. The investigators are committed to mentoring a diverse group of students across multiple educational levels, and they will continue to disseminate results to the public through lectures, open house events at their respective institutions, as well as radio, newspaper, and television interviews.

捕食者结构生态群落通过消耗和改变猎物的特征，但这些影响直到最近才与生态系统功能（例如初级生产和营养循环）的局部变化相关。这种联系在生物地理量表中的运作可能不同，因为已知影响局部捕食者机制的因素也随纬度而异。对捕食者如何影响生态系统功能的知识与生物地理范围之间的不匹配，捕食者 - 捕食互动发生的生物地理范围抑制了对生态社区与生态系统之间联系的理解，从而抑制了我们管理有价值的生态系统服务的能力。潮间牡蛎礁提供了一个模型系统来解决这一知识差距：它们发生在整个中大西洋和墨西哥湾沿岸；它们在捕食，资源供应和环境条件下跨纬度梯度中包含类似的食物-WEB组合；它们受到捕食者影响的强烈影响。并且它们通过增强底栖 - - 沿耦合来影响沉积物和养分周期。这项研究涉及一系列标准化抽样和实验研究，以：（1）研究牡蛎食品网络结构，资源供应，环境条件和与珊瑚礁功能相关的沉积物特性中的生物地理模式（2），这可以决定牡蛎的生命率，这会如何影响骨髓式耦合，从而在地理上; （3）实验检查消费性和非消费性捕食者对牡蛎礁群落以及它们提供的生态系统过程的相对重要性以及这些影响如何变化。它将提供对重要海洋基金会物种执行的有价值生态系统服务的生物地理位置转变的基础的机械理解，它还将提高对食物网络中捕食者效应之间的相互作用与依赖于它们的生态系统过程之间的相互作用之间的相互作用。通过将捕食者效应和底座 - 多质基于对本元素的启动的依据链接到这些范围内的范围，这是对本元素的有价值的范围，该研究的范围是对本次依据的范围，该研究的范围是对元素的范围，该研究的范围是对本次范围的范围，该研究的范围是对元素的范围，该研究的范围是在范围内的研究，将其依据的效果链接到了范围内的信息，而将其互动的效果链接到依据，这是对本层的范围。珊瑚礁和恢复生态系统服务。通过在四个主要研究型大学的研究小组之间促进概念和方法论思想的交流，该项目已经并且将继续在研究人员以及其未来的毕业生和本科生之间培养跨学科的专业知识。除了指导大约一会儿外，这项研究还将通过独立开发与该项目相关的项目来为至少三名研究生和三名本科生做好科学职业的准备。调查人员致力于指导跨多个教育水平的一群学生，他们将继续通过讲座，各自机构的开放式活动以及广播，报纸和电视采访来向公众传播结果。