2006 Metabolic Basis of Ecology and Evolution Gordon Research Conference

所有活着的生物体都能够进行一系列不同的生化反应，这些反应既涉及生物合成，也涉及复杂分子的分解。从生态学的角度来看，生物体的新陈代谢过程决定了与其环境的能量和物质交换的速度，以及这些资源分配给其生命历史的所有组成部分：维持、生长和繁殖的速度。从进化的角度来看，生物体的新陈代谢速度决定了控制分子进化速度、物种形成和灭绝速度以及物种多样性模式的潜在过程。这次戈登会议将汇集一组来自两个角度的高度不同的研究人员，他们工作在代谢生态学领域的前沿。这项NSF会议提案的目的是为戈登生态和进化代谢基础研究会议提供资金支持，该会议将于2006年7月9日至14日在缅因州刘易斯顿的贝茨学院举行。戈登会议的环境将吸引科学界最聪明和最具互动性的成员参加一个独特的、开放的论坛，该论坛将发现和解决代谢生态学中的新问题。在本次戈登会议上提出的想法和假设将刺激代谢生态学领域的增长和进化；将有助于新的经验和理论发现的综合；并将为未来戈登会议在生态学和进化中的新陈代谢创造一个新的知识库。

All living organisms are capable of a diverse set of biochemical reactions that are involved both in the biosynthesis and in the breakdown of complex molecules. From the perspective of ecology, an organism's metabolic processes determine the rate of exchange of energy and materials with its environment, and the rate of allocation of these resources to all components of its life history: maintenance, growth and reproduction. From the perspective of evolution, an organism's metabolic rate determines underlying processes that govern rates of molecular evolution, rates of speciation and extinction, as well as patterns in species diversity. This Gordon Conference will bring together a highly diverse set of researchers from both perspectives who are working at the forefront of the field of metabolic ecology. The goal of this NSF Conference proposal is to provide funding support for the Gordon Research Conference on the Metabolic Basis of Ecology and Evolution, which will be held at Bates College, Lewiston, Maine, from 9-14 July 2006.The Gordon Conference environment will attract the brightest and most interactive members of the scientific community to a unique, open forum that will identify and solve new problems in metabolic ecology. The ideas and hypotheses developed at this Gordon Conference will stimulate the growth and evolution of the field ofmetabolic ecology; will contribute towards a new synthesis of empirical and theoretical findings; and will create a new knowledge base for future Gordon Conferences on metabolism in ecology and evolution.