9317502 Schoener This research continues investigations into how top predators (lizards) affect indirectly, via influences on middle predators (other insects and spiders) and herbivores, the amount of leaf damage on plants. It also examines the effects of variation in rainfall on these dynamics. Data are also being collected on the extinctions of populations in relation to population and species characteristics and presence of predators. These studies will yield new insights on what controls the number of species that occur in given areas and how food webs respond dynamically to perturbation. %%% This research is significant in providing new insights into how top predators influence the population dynamics and interactions of species lower down in the food web and how changes in the physical environment directly and indirectly affect the food-web dynamics. Information from this research could have important applications to understanding ecosystem response to climate change and to biological control and other pest management methods in agriculture and forestry. ***
