DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The Effect of Vegetative Herbivory on the Mating System and on the Demographic Value of Selfed and Outcrossed Progeny

论文研究：无性食草对交配系统以及自交和异交后代的人口统计学价值的影响

• 批准号: 0412120
• 负责人: Tia-Lynn Ashman
• 金额: $ 1.2万
• 依托单位: University of Pittsburgh
• 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: 2004-05-15 至 2006-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0412120&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Effect; Vegetative; Herbivory

A central question of population biology is to understand the causes and consequences of mating system variation. Biologists have recognized the importance of both environmental and genetic factors in the evolution of plant mating systems. However, very few studies have examined the role of antagonists (e.g., herbivores/pathogens). Herbivores are one of the most important factors limiting plant reproduction, and are likely to affect mating system evolution. The proposed work tests hypotheses on the mechanisms of herbivore-mediated mating system variation in a native plant, Impatiens capensis. The investigators will further extend this work to understand how changes in the mating system as a result of herbivory affect the population dynamics of I. capensis. A combination of field experiments that manipulate herbivore levels, molecular genetic analyses, and demographic analyses will be used to address these goals. The results of these experiments will offer important insight to the ecological causes and long-term consequences of variation in mating patterns and the genetic diversity of a native species. This work has broader implications for conservation as plants have become more vulnerable to antagonists with increasing levels of disturbance, i.e., anthropogenic factors. It will also provide valuable training for a female graduate student, thereby, supporting the goals of NSF to increase diversity in its programs.

种群生物学的一个中心问题是了解交配系统变异的原因和后果。生物学家已经认识到环境和遗传因素在植物交配系统进化中的重要性。然而，很少有研究检查拮抗剂的作用（例如，食草动物/病原体）。植食动物是限制植物繁殖的重要因素之一，并可能影响交配系统的进化。拟议的工作测试的假设草食动物介导的交配系统的本地植物，凤仙花变异的机制。研究人员将进一步扩展这项工作，以了解草食性导致的交配系统的变化如何影响I的种群动态。Capensis。操纵食草动物水平的田间实验，分子遗传分析和人口统计学分析的组合将用于解决这些目标。 这些实验的结果将提供重要的洞察力的生态原因和长期后果的变化，交配模式和遗传多样性的本地物种。 这项工作对保护具有更广泛的意义，因为随着干扰水平的增加，植物变得更容易受到拮抗剂的影响，即，人为因素它还将为女研究生提供宝贵的培训，从而支持NSF增加其方案多样性的目标。