COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Assessing temperature-related changes in introgression of hybridizing species across time and space

全球气候变化通过改变物种生活的时间和地点，正在改变生物多样性的模式。在地理范围边界上与亲缘物种杂交的物种可能会受到气候变化的新影响。有几种可能的结果：两个物种的地理范围可能在杂交变化不大的情况下发生一致的变化；在杂交区域内共享的个别性状可能发生变化，而其他性状保持稳定；杂交可能随着物种的独立移动而破裂；或者杂交模式和物种边界可能几乎没有变化。研究人员将利用两种燕尾蝶探索气候条件变化对杂交模式的影响。过去研究了这两个物种之间的接触区域，调查人员将把历史数据与现代样本进行比较。他们将使用各种遗传特征来进行比较。此外，杂交杂交实验将测试个体在冬季变暖、夏季热应激和冬季极端寒冷条件下的表现，这些因素在最近发生了变化。这个项目很可能成为气候如何改变遗传多样性模式的一个例子。在这个项目的同时，调查人员将为保护受气候变化影响的物种制定管理建议。此外，参与该项目的学生还将参加密歇根州立大学的“虫屋”项目，该项目利用昆虫向K-8年级的学生介绍科学概念。最后，所有参与该项目的研究生和博士后将在一个wiki上合作，以促进跨机构的研究。

Global climate change is altering patterns of biodiversity by changing when and where species live. Species that hybridize with a related species at their geographic range boundary could be affected in new ways by climate change. Several outcomes are possible: the geographic range of both species could shift congruently with little change in hybridization, individual traits that are shared across the hybrid zone could shift while other traits remain stable, hybridization could fall apart as the species move independently, or there could be little change in hybridization patterns and species boundaries. The investigators will explore the effect of changing climatic conditions on hybridization patterns using two species of swallowtail butterfly. The zone of contact between these two species was studied in the past and the investigators will compare the historical data to modern samples. They will use a variety of genetic traits to make this comparison. In addition, experiments with hybrid crosses will test how individuals perform under winter warming, summer heat stress, and extreme winter cold, factors that have changed in the recent past. This project is likely to become an example of how climate modifies patterns of genetic diversity. In conjunction with this project, the investigators will develop management recommendations for the conservation of species affected by climate change. Furthermore, students working on this project will participate in MSU's "Bug House", a program that uses insects to introduce K-8 grade students to scientific concepts. Finally, all of the graduate students and postdocs working on this project will collaborate on a wiki that facilitates cross-institutional research.