Dissertation Research: Climate Change, Range Limits and Adaptive Potential: Latitudinal variation in thermal tolerance in the copepod Tigriopus californicus?

快速的气候变化威胁着许多物种的灭绝。 如果一个物种能够1）改变其地理分布以跟踪不断变化的环境，或者2）进化出对新条件更大的耐受性，那么它就可能避免灭绝。 一个物种适应不断变化的环境的能力将取决于遗传变异的数量，如对极端温度的耐受性。 然而，人们对自然界中这些性状的变异程度知之甚少。 PI将使用虾样潮池动物Tigriopus californicus作为代表性研究生物来解决这些问题。 这种微小的海洋甲壳动物生活在北美太平洋沿岸沿着的海岸潮池中。 PI正在从跨越900多英里的8个地点收集Tigriopus，以建立30个实验室种群。 他们的实验将使这些种群在多代人中暴露于不断升高的温度下，以跟踪种群变化对环境变化的反应。 这些实验将测量耐温性的遗传变异，并将测试对变暖温度的进化反应能力。 学生PI在指导本科生方面非常成功，并将继续让他们参与研究。该项目将增加对进化在促进物种在面临气候变化时避免灭绝的能力方面的作用的理解。通过描述一个重要特征的地理变异，该项目的结果也将为管理人员提供一个宝贵的决策工具，优先考虑栖息地和种群的保护。

The rapid pace of climate change threatens many species with extinction. A species may avoid extinction if it is able to either 1) shift its geographic distribution to track the changing environment, or 2) evolve greater tolerance of new conditions. The ability of a species to adapt to a changing environment will depend on the amount of genetic variation for traits like tolerance of extreme temperatures. However, very little is known about how much variation exists for these kinds of traits in nature. The PIs will address these issues using the shrimp-like tidepool animal, Tigriopus californicus, as a representative study organism. This tiny marine crustacean lives in upper shore tidepools along the Pacific coast of North America. The PIs are collecting Tigriopus from eight sites spanning over 900 miles to establish 30 laboratory populations. Their experiments will expose these populations to increasing temperatures for multiple generations, to track the course of population changes in response to environmental change. These experiments will measure genetic variation for temperature tolerance and will test the capacity for an evolutionary response to warming temperatures. The student PI has been very successful in mentoring undergraduates and will continue to involve them in the research. This project will add to the understanding of the role of evolution in contributing to a species' ability to avoid extinction in the face of climate change. By describing geographic variation in an important trait, the results of this project will also provide managers with a valuable decision-making tool when prioritizing habitats and populations for conservation.