RUI: Analysis of Competition for Pollination in East African Acacia

RUI：东非金合欢授粉竞争分析

• 批准号: 0344519
• 负责人: Andrew Schnabel
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Indiana University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-05-01 至 2009-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0344519&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Analysis; Competition; Pollination; East

Most flowering plants depend on pollinators for reproduction, yet understanding of plant-pollinator interactions in many plant communities is limited. In East African woody savannahs dominated by several species of acacia tree, each acacia species releases its pollen at specific, but different, times during the day and insect pollinators closely track the pollen release patterns of the trees. The goal of this study is to determine whether natural selection is acting to structure pollen release times in acacia communities in response to competition for pollinator services. The study will focus on one acacia species within the larger community and will combine genetic analyses and field experiments in Kenya to determine (i) the effect of different pollen release times and pollinators on seed production, (ii) the importance of self-fertilization to reproduction, and (iii) the distances over which pollinators carry acacia pollen. The results of this study will enhance understanding of how plants adapt to their biotic environment and how plant-pollinator interactions could contribute to the formation of new plant species. This study will bolster understanding of these interactions in a widespread and understudied ecosystem that has great ecological and economic importance in East Africa. The study will significantly enhance education of undergraduates in ecology, genetics, and evolution at the PI's home institution, and in particular, will broaden research opportunities for women and students of middle to low socioeconomic status, who make up a majority of the PI's students.

大多数开花植物依赖于传粉者进行繁殖，但在许多植物群落中对植物-传粉者相互作用的理解是有限的。 在东非的木本稀树草原上，几种金合欢树占主导地位，每种金合欢树在一天中的特定但不同的时间释放花粉，昆虫传粉者密切跟踪树木的花粉释放模式。 本研究的目的是确定是否自然选择的作用，以结构的花粉释放时间在相思树群落中，以应对传粉服务的竞争。 这项研究将集中在一个更大的社区内的金合欢物种，并将结合联合收割机遗传分析和肯尼亚的实地实验，以确定（一）不同的花粉释放时间和传粉者对种子生产的影响，（二）自我受精繁殖的重要性，以及（三）传粉者携带金合欢花粉的距离。 这项研究的结果将提高对植物如何适应其生物环境以及植物-传粉者相互作用如何有助于新植物物种形成的理解。 这项研究将加强对这些相互作用的理解，在东非具有巨大的生态和经济重要性的广泛和未充分研究的生态系统。 这项研究将大大加强PI所在机构对本科生的生态学、遗传学和进化学教育，特别是将扩大妇女和社会经济地位中低的学生的研究机会，这些学生占PI学生的大多数。