Physiological Responses to Predators and Their Consequences for the Growth/Predation Risk trade-off

对捕食者的生理反应及其对生长/捕食风险权衡的影响

• 批准号: 0130021
• 负责人: Mark McPeek
• 金额: $ 30.36万
• 依托单位: Dartmouth College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2002
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2002-04-15 至 2006-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0130021&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Physiological; Responses; Predators; Their; Consequences

Many organisms respond to the threat of predators by altering their physiology, behavior and morphology. These attempts to reduce their likelihood of being killed by a predator, often come at the cost of reducing growth. Although organisms from bacteria to plants and animals show such responses, the underlying reasons for this trade-off are poorly understood. Reduced growth in the presence of predators may result in part from behavioral responses to reduce feeding, but physiological changes also may play a major role. This research will explore the differences among species and genera of larval damselflies (Hexapoda: Odonata) in physiological response to predators, the consequences of these differences for metabolic resource allocation and behavior, and the evolution of these traits. Five studies will be performed to examine the physiological responses of species and the allocation of ingested resources to various molecules in the body. The first study will survey 12 species to measure natural growth rates and the amount of glucose, glycogen, triglycerides and protein in the organism's body. The second will experimentally determine alterations in growth and allocation to these molecules under treatments of predator presence and food availability in the lab. The third is a field experiment to test whether the results obtained in the controlled laboratory experiment are substantiated in real lakes. The fourth tests hypotheses about the proximate differences between the genera that induce the physiological response. Finally, the fifth examines the broader evolutionary history of this physiological response to predators.This work explores the physiological mechanisms underlying a fundamental difference in ecological performance between two groups of insects. This is critical to understanding how an individual's phenotype shapes its ability to engage in interactions with its environment and with other species. Also, examining how this physiology has evolved provides valuable insights into how species adapt to various environments and to natural and anthropogenically-induced environmental change (e.g., natural habitat shifts, climate change, habitat degradation).

许多生物通过改变其生理，行为和形态来应对捕食者的威胁。 这些试图减少被捕食者杀死的可能性，通常是以减少增长为代价的。 尽管从细菌到动植物的有机体表现出这种反应，但对这种权衡的根本原因知之甚少。 在捕食者存在下的生长降低可能会导致行为反应减少喂养，但生理变化也可能起主要作用。 这项研究将探讨在生理反应中，幼虫坝的物种和属的差异，这些差异对代谢资源分配和行为的后果以及这些特征的演变。 将进行五项研究，以检查物种的生理反应以及对体内各种分子的摄入资源的分配。 第一项研究将调查12种，以测量自然生长速率以及生物体体内葡萄糖，糖原，甘油三酸酯和蛋白质的量。 第二个将通过实验确定在实验室中捕食者存在和食物可用性的处理下，对这些分子的生长和分配的改变。 第三个是一个现场实验，用于测试在真正的湖泊中是否证实了在受控实验室实验中获得的结果。 第四次测试假设诱导生理反应的属之间的近距离差异。 最后，第五个研究了对捕食者的生理反应的更广泛的进化史。这项工作探讨了两组昆虫之间生态表现基本差异的生理机制。 这对于了解个人的表型如何塑造其与环境和其他物种进行互动的能力至关重要。 同样，研究这种生理学如何发展，还提供了对物种如何适应各种环境以及自然和人为引起的环境变化的宝贵见解（例如，自然栖息地转移，气候变化，栖息地降解）。