扩散生态学及其意义

Dispersal ecology and its significance

扩散研究是生态学研究中的一个热点领域 ,而扩散生态学则是生物学领域一门新的分支学科。本文综述了扩散生态学研究的一些基本理论问题 ,包括扩散的定义、扩散生态学的研究内容及其与生物学其它分支学科的关系 ,并阐述了研究扩散的重要意义。扩散生态学的研究内容十分广泛 ,既涉及所有生物 (从微生物到脊椎动物 )的生态学 (如复合种群、群落、生态系统多样性、复杂性和稳定性 )和进化 (如种化 )等理论问题 ,又涉及物种保护、生物多样性保育、有害生物 (包括外来物种 )的控制、流行病防范、环境保护和人口管理等应用问题。因此 ,研究生物的扩散具有十分重要的理论和实践意义。

Dispersal is one of the hottest fields in ecological research,while dispersal ecology has become a new discipline in biological sciences.This paper reviewed some basically theoretical problems about dispersal ecology,such as the definitions of dispersal,research scopes and its relationships with other disciplines in biology,and the significance of dispersal was also summerized.The research scopes of dispersal ecology are very wide and covers from microbes to vertebrates,involving not only ecological theories (e.g.metapopulation,diversity,complex and stability of community and ecosystem) and evolutionary theories (e.g.speciation),but also the application for species protection,biodiversity conservation,pest control (inclusive invading species),epidemic prevention,environmental protection,and demographic management.It is essential to study dispersal for the biological theories and practical problems.