NSF Award
0129037
Resource, Predation, and Disturbance Interactions in a Grassland Community<br/>PI: Matthew D. Moran DEB- 0129037<br/><br/> This study is designed to investigate how carnivores, nutrients, and fire affect grassland communities. Previous studies have shown that these three factors are important for determining the population sizes of many different animals and the growth of plants in grasslands. However, how these processes interact with each other is not well understood. This study is also designed to compare small isolated grassland communities in Arkansas to those larger, more well studied tallgrass prairies in the Great Plains of North America. The grasslands of the Great Plains have many similarities with my field sites, including similar plant species and frequent disturbance by fire. However, my field sites lack (and historically lacked) large mammal herbivores such as bison. This study will therefore help determine if the results of studies on the tallgrass prairies apply to other grassland systems.<br/> Proper management of grasslands is important as these systems have been drastically altered by human activity and often contain rare and declining species. This study will address what factors affect the abundance and diversity of life in grasslands and will therefore provide information as to the proper human management of these systems. Some of the research will take place on state owned lands with public access and will help with both management and education of the public. This project will also provide support for numerous undergraduate research projects furthering the educational goals of the National Science Foundation.
