Dissertation Research: Feedback between ecological interactions and evolutionary processes in a trophic cascade

论文研究：营养级联中生态相互作用和进化过程之间的反馈

• 批准号: 0808453
• 负责人: Sharon Strauss
• 金额: $ 1.08万
• 依托单位: University of California-Davis
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-06-01 至 2010-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0808453&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; Feedback; between; ecological

Trophic cascades, ecological interactions in which predators suppress herbivores and so indirectly benefit plants, are among the most widely studied multi-species interactions. This research will examine how trophic cascades affect natural selection and evolution of the common monkey flower plant (Mimulus guttatus). The presence of both arthropod herbivores and predatory spiders will be manipulated in the field and responses of several genetically-variable plant traits will be measured to assess changes in selection pressures associated with those treatments. Changes in plant traits also have the potential to influence the strength of trophic cascades. The importance of this feedback mechanism will be measured directly, by growing offspring of plants from each treatment in every treatment the following season, and indirectly, by using artificial selection to manipulate plant traits and then placing selected lines into each treatment. Understanding complex multi-species interactions in ecological communities remains a key challenge for ecology. The intellectual merit of this research is that it will add to our understanding of the interplay between genetic variation, natural selection, and multi-species interactions in complex ecological communities. The broader impacts of the research include student training, and that it will generate important insights for managing both species diversity and genetic diversity in natural and agricultural systems. Understanding potential feedbacks between the variable interactions among different species and the genetic variation present within species will also help in predicting how ecological communities will change as species diversity and genetic diversity are altered by humans.

营养级联，生态相互作用中，捕食者抑制食草动物，从而间接受益于植物，是最广泛研究的多物种相互作用。本研究将探讨营养级联如何影响自然选择和进化的共同猴花植物（Mimulus guttatus）。节肢动物食草动物和捕食性蜘蛛的存在将被操纵在现场和几个遗传变异的植物性状的反应将被测量，以评估与这些治疗相关的选择压力的变化。植物性状的变化也有可能影响营养级联的强度。这种反馈机制的重要性将直接测量，通过在下一个季节的每个处理中生长每个处理的植物后代，间接测量，通过使用人工选择来操纵植物性状，然后将选择的品系放入每个处理中。理解生态群落中复杂的多物种相互作用仍然是生态学的一个关键挑战。这项研究的智力价值在于，它将增加我们对复杂生态群落中遗传变异、自然选择和多物种相互作用之间相互作用的理解。该研究的更广泛影响包括学生培训，它将为管理自然和农业系统中的物种多样性和遗传多样性提供重要见解。了解不同物种之间的变量相互作用和物种内存在的遗传变异之间的潜在反馈也将有助于预测生态群落将如何随着人类改变物种多样性和遗传多样性而发生变化。