DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Post-introduction Evolution of Increased Invasiveness in Bromus Tectorum, an Invasive Grass, Bromus Tectorum

论文研究：无芒雀麦（一种入侵性草类）入侵性增强的引入后进化

• 批准号: 0412206
• 负责人: Peter Alpert
• 金额: $ 0.49万
• 依托单位: University of Massachusetts Amherst
• 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: 2004-06-01 至 2006-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0412206&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Post; introduction; Evolution

Invasions of native plant communities by exotic, weedy species are an important component of human-induced environmental change. This process may drastically and rapidly change the biodiversity of natural habitats, but the processes determining the degree and rapidity of such invasions are poorly studied. When an exotic or weedy species moves into a new habitat, it may undergo evolutionary change as it adapts to the novel environment and to a new community of species with which it interacts. If this evolutionary change results in improved growth, reproduction, and survival in the newly inhabited region, then evolution may play a major role in invasion success. This possibility has been little explored, and is the subject of this research project. The PIs have identified pairs of populations of the invasive plant, Bromus tectorum, where one population represents an introduced (or "invading") population, and the paired population is the source of the introduction. The proposed research will specifically test whether the introduced (i.e., invading) populations exhibit stronger competitive ability than the source populations from which they originated. The proposed work will improve our understanding of the mechanisms associated with the successful invasions of exotic plants. This research can give insight not only into mechanisms of invasion, but also into processes of microevolution, information much needed in these times of rapid global change.

外来杂草物种入侵本地植物群落是人类引起的环境变化的一个重要组成部分。 这一过程可能会彻底而迅速地改变自然栖息地的生物多样性，但决定这种入侵的程度和速度的过程却研究得很少。 当一个外来物种或杂草进入一个新的栖息地，它可能会经历进化的变化，因为它适应新的环境和一个新的物种与它互动的社区。 如果这种进化变化导致了新居住区的生长、繁殖和生存的改善，那么进化可能在入侵成功中发挥了重要作用。 这种可能性很少被探索，这是本研究项目的主题。 研究人员已经确定了入侵植物雀麦（Bromus tectorum）的成对种群，其中一个种群代表引进（或“入侵”）种群，成对种群是引进的来源。 拟议的研究将具体测试是否引入（即，入侵）种群表现出比它们起源的源种群更强的竞争能力。 这项工作将提高我们对外来植物成功入侵机制的理解。这项研究不仅可以深入了解入侵机制，还可以深入了解微观进化过程，这些信息在全球快速变化的时代非常需要。