Mary was awarded a NSF career grant to
support her urban ecology project in Cleveland. This is very exciting for a ALE Lab, and it is a wonderful opportunity.
Project Description:
The
consequences of global biodiversity decline have fueled rapid growth in
biodiversity-ecosystem function (BEF) research. On average, a positive
association among species richness (the number of species in a given area) and productivity has emerged from these
experiments. However, studies examining predators indicate larger variation in
richness-resource (such as prey) capture relationships. Across trophic levels, resource
partitioning is considered a dominant mechanism mediating BEF patterns. Yet,
for predators there is little empirical evidence that resource partitioning
facilitates species richness and leads to enhanced resource capture. Without
greater knowledge of the mechanisms driving predator BEF relationships,
conservation of predators and their functions is difficult to achieve. Studying
these processes is also challenging. Many logistical hurdles exist in documenting
partitioning among predators, particularly in real-world heterogeneous
landscapes. Nevertheless, discerning the effects of spatial pattern on the
mechanisms and outcomes of BEF relationships will greatly advance ecosystem
ecology and inform conservation.
This NSF grant will establish a large-scale field experiment to examine
how the surrounding landscape influences predator resource
partitioning and resource
capture.
Objective 1 tests
the hypothesis that spatial heterogeneity (a mix of different land uses) facilitates resource partitioning. This
objective will document how patch and landscape heterogeneity affect the
dietary niche (ecological role of the organisms regarding food consumption, or in simpler terms...what do these predators eat?) overlap of five generalist predator species, as a measure of
resource partitioning. The goal of this objective will be to determine if the
extent of niche overlap present among this indicator community is a significant
predictor of predator species richness, abundance, and resource capture. Heterogeneity-resource
partitioning relationships could affect resource capture via several mechanisms.
Objective 2 will test whether changes
in heterogeneity affect resource capture via: random gain/loss in species richness,
non-random gain/loss of highly effective predatory species, and/or altering the
per-capita contributions of species. This objective utilizes the Extended Price
Equation Partition to calculate how each of these mechanisms independently
changes in response to altered patch and/or landscape heterogeneity. To inform
conservation and management, it’s important to understand how these changes
affect the provision of ecosystem services.
Objective 3 will track the
dispersal of predators among patches within a landscape to determine if heterogeneity affects
the ability of a patch to serve as a source of biological control services.
The city of Cleveland,
OH will serve as a model system to test relationships between predator
richness, abundance, and function. Cleveland contains over 10,000 vacant city lots.
Decisions regarding vacant land management will shape the ecological and social
quality of inner-city neighborhoods for decades to come. Therefore, understanding
how the composition of these habitats and their landscape context influence BEF
relationships is a critical task facing ecologists. This research will take place
within a network of 64 vacant lot sites assigned to one of eight plant
community treatments. These treatments represent a range of available options
for vacant land management and were selected through a partnership with the
Cleveland City Planning Commission. The outcomes of this research will inform
future green space design in Cleveland and other cities engaged or interested
in vacant land management.
Objective 4: Additionally,
this proposal creates significant opportunities for high school students within
Cleveland and throughout the state of Ohio to conduct field ecology research by
establishing the Ohio Ecological Research
School Sites . This
network of Environmental Science classrooms will study arthropod predator-prey
relationships by conducting an experiment entitled The Prey Buffet.
Objective 5
will also provide internships to talented Cleveland high school students to gain
direct research experience in my laboratory. This program will provide experience
in proposal writing and experimental design, field data collection, data analysis,
and presentation of findings.
Finally,
the growth of crop production on vacant land provides important health benefits
to inner-city communities lacking access to fresh produce.
Objective 6 will create the Sustainable Urban Food Production Program to address the need for urban gardener and farmer training. This OSU Master Gardener specialization program will produce a network of trained volunteers who will develop and present programs within urban communities focused on sustainable gardening and farming practices.
Objective 6 will create the Sustainable Urban Food Production Program to address the need for urban gardener and farmer training. This OSU Master Gardener specialization program will produce a network of trained volunteers who will develop and present programs within urban communities focused on sustainable gardening and farming practices.
Congratulations
Mary!
