Brown J H, Whitham T G, Morgan Ernest S K, Gehring C A
Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.
Science. 2001 Jul 27;293(5530):643-50. doi: 10.1126/science.293.5530.643.
Studies that combine experimental manipulations with long-term data collection reveal elaborate interactions among species that affect the structure and dynamics of ecosystems. Research programs in U.S. desert shrubland and pinyon-juniper woodland have shown that (i) complex dynamics of species populations reflect interactions with other organisms and fluctuating climate; (ii) genotype x environment interactions affect responses of species to environmental change; (iii) herbivore-resistance traits of dominant plant species and impacts of "keystone" animal species cascade through the system to affect many organisms and ecosystem processes; and (iv) some environmental perturbations can cause wholesale reorganization of ecosystems because they exceed the ecological tolerances of dominant or keystone species, whereas other changes may be buffered because of the compensatory dynamics of complementary species.
将实验操作与长期数据收集相结合的研究揭示了物种之间复杂的相互作用，这些相互作用影响着生态系统的结构和动态。美国沙漠灌木丛和矮松-杜松林地的研究项目表明：（i）物种种群的复杂动态反映了与其他生物以及气候变化的相互作用；（ii）基因型与环境的相互作用影响物种对环境变化的反应；（iii）优势植物物种的抗食草动物特性和“关键”动物物种的影响会在整个系统中层层传递，从而影响许多生物和生态系统过程；（iv）一些环境扰动可能导致生态系统的全面重组，因为它们超出了优势或关键物种的生态耐受范围，而其他变化可能由于互补物种的补偿动态而得到缓冲。
