US-South Africa Planning Visit: The Role of Breeding System Evolution and Altered Mutualistic and Antagonistic Relationships in Biological Invasions

美国-南非计划访问：育种系统进化的作用以及生物入侵中互利和对抗关系的改变

• 批准号: 0652299
• 负责人: Lorne Wolfe
• 金额: $ 0.63万
• 依托单位: Georgia Southern University Research and Service Foundation, Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-03-01 至 2008-02-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0652299&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: US; South; Africa; Planning; Visit

Wolfe 0652299 The objective of this planning visit is to initiate long-term collaborative interactions, both scholarly and educational, with academic colleagues in South Africa. The focus of the research collaborations will be on biological invasions. Invasions, which occur when plant or animal species are moved between continents, can have devastating impacts on native species, ecosystems and economies (e.g., the impacts of invasives cost ~ $100 billion annually in the U.S.). One of the fundamental challenges facing biologists worldwide is to determine the factors that enable introduced species to become invasive. The proposed research seeks to understand how extrinsic factors such as interactions with antagonists (natural enemies) and mutualists (pollinators), and intrinsic factors (breeding system) influence invasion success in plants. This approach is novel in that it integrates the role of multiple factors into the study of invasions. During this planning visit, Wolfe will work with Dr. Steven Johnson (University of KwaZulu-Natal [UKZN] and the Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology) to initiate a study examining how antagonistic and mutualistic relationships are altered between the native and introduced ranges of several plant species, and how this influences the outcome of species introductions. Because of its unique flora and fauna, one that has been heavily impacted by invasive species, South Africa offers a spectacular natural laboratory in which to investigate the ecological and evolutionary basis to invasions. The educational objective of this planning visit is to learn from South African faculty how they integrate students with different backgrounds into science. The PI will work with Dr. Robert Slotow, UKZN School of Biological and Conservation Sciences' Education Coordinator, who has worked to increase the recruitment of students of disadvantaged backgrounds into the biological sciences and research. This planning visit will have significant broader impacts. The problem of invasions is global and thus requires a broad international perspective encompassing the disciplines of ecology, genetics, and evolution. This proposal will foster an international collaboration between scientists who would not normally interact and who bring diverse experience and knowledge on the topic of invasions. The visit will also produce educational benefits because it will enable collaboration on how South Africa and the PI's home state of Georgia can best address their common challenges in recruiting a racially diverse set of students into university science.

此次计划访问的目的是与南非的学术同事开展学术和教育方面的长期合作互动。研究合作的重点将放在生物入侵上。当植物或动物物种在大陆之间迁移时，入侵会对本地物种、生态系统和经济产生破坏性影响（例如，入侵的影响每年在美国造成约1000亿美元的损失）。全球生物学家面临的基本挑战之一是确定使引进物种成为入侵物种的因素。该研究旨在了解外在因素（如与拮抗者（天敌）和共生者（传粉者）的相互作用）和内在因素（育种系统）如何影响植物入侵成功。这种方法是新颖的，因为它将多种因素的作用整合到入侵研究中。在这次计划访问期间，Wolfe将与Steven Johnson博士（夸祖鲁-纳塔尔大学和入侵生物学卓越中心）一起开展一项研究，研究几种植物物种的本地和引进范围之间的对抗和互惠关系是如何改变的，以及这如何影响物种引进的结果。由于其独特的动植物受到入侵物种的严重影响，南非提供了一个壮观的自然实验室，可以研究入侵的生态和进化基础。这次计划访问的教育目标是向南非教师学习他们如何将不同背景的学生融入科学。PI将与UKZN生物和保护科学学院教育协调员Robert Slotow博士合作，他一直致力于增加招收弱势背景的学生进入生物科学和研究领域。这次计划中的访问将产生更广泛的重大影响。入侵问题是全球性的，因此需要一个广泛的国际视野，包括生态学、遗传学和进化学科。这项提议将促进科学家之间的国际合作，这些科学家通常不会相互作用，但他们在入侵问题上带来了不同的经验和知识。这次访问还将带来教育方面的好处，因为它将促进合作，探讨南非和PI的家乡乔治亚州如何才能最好地解决它们在招收不同种族的学生进入大学理科方面的共同挑战。