1997 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Theoretical study on the mechanism of ecosystem development by the coupling between foo-chain dynamics and nutrient cycling
| Project/Area Number |
08640802
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
生態
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| Research Institution | KYOTO UNIVERSITY |
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Principal Investigator |
HIGASHI Masahiko KYOTO UNIVERSITY,CENTER FOR ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH PROFESSOR, 生態学研究センター, 教授 (40183917)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
NAKAZIMA Hisao RITSUMEIKAN UNIVERSITY,FACULTY OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING,PROFESSOR, 理工学部, 教授 (40113112)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1996 – 1997
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| Keywords | food chain / matter cycle / interaction / ecosystem development / nutrient-limiting hypothesis / energy pyramid |
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| Research Abstract |
What determines the length of food chain? Among many hypotheses that have been proposed on this problem, two najor ones are "nutrient-limiting hypothesis" and "transfer-efficiency hypothesis." Relating to these hypotheses, Teramoto (1993) derived a result out of a theoretical model that provides a helpful insight into the issue. On the other hand, we have developed a model that shows how the matter (nutrient) cycle of an ecosystem can be developed by the mechanism of "matching" between producer and decomposer subsystems (through ecological species replacement process or coevolutionary process). Food chain dynamics and nutrient cycling are not unrelated ; nutrient cycle provides the base structure for supporting the development of the two food chains built on producer and decomposer.
This study aims to investigate ecosystem development based on the interaction between nutrient cycle and two food chains.
This year, which is the last year of the present research project, we made theoretical studies on the following focal points :
1. the validity and limit of "nutrient-limiting hypothesis" and "transfer-efficiency hypothesis, "
2. the correlation between the length of food chains and the flux of nutrient :
3. the condition for "energy pyramid" emergence ;
4. the effect of the interaction between the food chains.
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