Correlations Among Environmental Agents: Implications for Plant Ecology and Evolution

环境因素之间的相关性：对植物生态学和进化的影响

• 批准号: 9318523
• 负责人: Thomas Miller
• 金额: $ 4.23万
• 依托单位: Florida State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1994
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1994-02-15 至 1997-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9318523&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Correlations; Among; Environmental; Agents; Implications

9318523 Miller Studies on the ways in which natural selection leads to the evolution of species have demonstrated that many traits of interest, such as leaf shape or growth rate, are controlled by numerous loci (many genes), but that one can qualitatively predict how traits will evolve when undergoing natural selection. For example, previous research has investigated how herbivory by insects would lead to evolutionary changes in herbivore resistance of a plant species. Clearly, however, organisms are affected simultaneously by multiple environmental agents. The dune annual Sabatia stellaris, for example, appears to be simultaneously affected by resource competition, water availability, and herbivory. The proposed research asks how selection for one agent (e.g. competition) is affected by the simultaneous action of a second agent (e.g. herbivory). Theoretical predictions suggest that the selection by any one agent will be increased, in some cases dramatically, by the presence of any second agent%%% The proposed research will quantify selection for traits related to competition, herbivory, and water stress in Sabatia plants grown under a variety of different experimental conditions in the field: competition only, herbivory only, water stress only, and several combinations of these three environmental agents. In each environment, a number of plant traits known to be important for dealing with competition, herbivory, and/or water stress will be quantified. By counting the seeds produced by plants with these traits under various conditions, selection for these traits will be quantified in each environment and predictions can be tested. The results of this study may be important for understanding basic questions about rates of evolutionary change of species in different natural environments and the maintenance of genetic diversity. They may also be important for developing or understanding breeding programs in agricultural systems where factors su ch as completion and herbivory are commonplace.

9318523米勒 对自然选择导致物种进化的方式的研究表明，许多感兴趣的性状，如叶片形状或生长速度，是由许多基因座（许多基因）控制的，但人们可以定性地预测性状在经历自然选择时将如何进化。 例如，先前的研究已经调查了昆虫的食草性如何导致植物物种的食草性抗性的进化变化。 然而，很明显，生物体同时受到多种环境因素的影响。 例如，沙丘一年生Sabatiastellaris似乎同时受到资源竞争、水供应和食草动物的影响。 拟议的研究询问如何选择一个代理（例如竞争）是由第二代理（例如草食动物）的同时行动的影响。 理论预测表明，任何一个代理人的选择将增加，在某些情况下显着，任何第二代理人的存在。 拟议中的研究将量化性状的选择 与竞争，植食性，和水分胁迫在Sabatia植物生长在各种不同的实验条件下，在该领域：竞争，植食性，水分胁迫，只有几个组合，这三个环境因素。 在每种环境中，将量化一些已知对处理竞争、植食性和/或水分胁迫很重要的植物性状。 通过对具有这些性状的植物在各种条件下产生的种子进行计数，将在每个环境中对这些性状的选择进行量化，并可以测试预测。 这项研究的结果可能是重要的理解有关物种在不同的自然环境中的进化变化率和遗传多样性的维护的基本问题。 它们对于发展或理解农业系统中的育种计划也很重要，因为在农业系统中，完成和草食动物等因素是常见的。