Dissertation Research: Morphological Adaptations to Individual Pollinator Taxa in a Generalist Plant

论文研究：通才植物中个体传粉媒介类群的形态适应

• 批准号: 0408055
• 负责人: Jeffrey Conner
• 金额: $ 1.2万
• 依托单位: Michigan State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-07-01 至 2007-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0408055&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; Morphological; Adaptations; Individual

Species in nature vary greatly in how specialized they are in resource use. For example, some predator species are extremely specialized, eating only one species of prey, while others are extremely generalized, feeding on many different species. Trade-offs in resource use are often thought to play a critical role in the evolution of specialized species, because an adaptation for the use of one resource may prevent the efficient use of another resource. The evolutionary importance of such trade-offs in generalist species that use many resources is not well understood. This research examines the importance of trade-offs in the adaptation of floral traits to different pollinators (an important resource for plant reproduction) in a generalist plant, wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum), using measurements of selection on floral traits by individual pollinator taxa. If selection by one pollinator opposes selection by another pollinator, then this indicates a trade-off, because a plant cannot be well-adapted to both pollinators at the same time. Floral adaptation to pollinators can have important consequences for reproduction and population growth in native species. In addition, many organisms such as pathogens, major agricultural weeds (such as wild radish), and invasive species are generalists. Therefore, results from this study will have broader impacts on our understanding of adaptation in economically, medically, and environmentally important generalist organisms.

自然界中的物种在资源利用方面的专业化程度差异很大。例如，一些捕食者物种非常特殊，只吃一种猎物，而另一些物种则非常普遍，以许多不同的物种为食。资源利用的权衡通常被认为在专门化物种的进化中起着关键作用，因为适应一种资源的使用可能会阻碍另一种资源的有效利用。在使用许多资源的多面手物种中，这种权衡在进化上的重要性还没有得到很好的理解。本研究通过对不同传粉者分类群对花卉性状选择的测量，研究了不同传粉者(植物繁殖的重要资源)对野生萝卜(Raphanus Raphanistrum)花卉性状适应的重要性。如果一个传粉者的选择反对另一个传粉者的选择，那么这意味着一种权衡，因为一株植物不能同时很好地适应两种传粉者。花对传粉者的适应可能会对本土物种的繁殖和种群增长产生重要影响。此外，许多生物，如病原体、主要农业杂草(如野萝卜)和入侵物种都是多面手。因此，这项研究的结果将对我们理解经济上、医学上和环境上重要的通才生物体的适应产生更广泛的影响。