Projects Highlights

(see full list of projects)

Mutualisms

Mutualisms have traditionally been viewed as interactions between pairs of species that have unconditional fitness benefits for both participants. In contrast, it is now evident that most mutualisms involve multiple species on one or both sides of the interaction, and that the fitness effects of the interactions, and the commodities exchanged between partners, change with the ecological context. Studying mutualisms from this new perspective dynamics of multi-species mutualismsrequires that we understand how multiple species coexist within guilds of mutualists, how the costs and benefits of alternative partner species differ, whether mechanisms exist for selectively associating with more beneficial partner species, and the extent to which the costs and benefits of any given association are context-dependent.

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Species Coexistence

This project addresses a fundamental ecological question: What mechanisms allow multiple species to coexist, when they seemingly depend on the same resources? Using a combination of field observations, manipulative experiments and mathematical modeling, Todd Palmer, Maureen Stanton and Truman Young have been testing multiple mechanisms for species coexistence among a highly competitive guild of four acacia ant species that compete for Acacia drepanolobium host trees in the central highlands of Kenya.

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KLEE

Mpala Research Centre hosts a large-scale long-term exclosure experiment in which different combinations of large (and small) mammalian herbivores are allowed access to plots of semiraid rangeland (wooded grassland). These exclosures are located in the south-western corner of the property at appoximately 36o52' E, 0o17' N and an elevation of 1800 m. The UTM coordinates are (37M) 262-265 E and 030-033 N.

These plots were designed by Truman Young and Alan Smith, and funded by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Geographic Society. They are available to any researcher with a compelling reason to visit them. This does not necessarily include site visits for interest only or short-term student projects, although both will be considered. One of the main purposes of these plots is to create controlled differences in herbivore presence. These differences will be compromised by human visitation rates that are too high and serve to discourage wildlife from plots in which their presence is desireable. In addition, we wish to minimize any trampling effects that accompany high visitation rates by humans.

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