LiT - Ecology and evolution of adaptive responses to rapid global change

LiT - 对快速全球变化的适应性反应的生态学和进化

• 批准号: 0949483
• 负责人: Tracy Langkilde
• 金额: $ 48.96万
• 依托单位: Pennsylvania State Univ University Park
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-04-01 至 2013-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0949483&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: LiT; Ecology; evolution; adaptive; responses

The introduction of non-native species poses a growing threat to global biodiversity. Native species can respond to environmental change at previously unimagined rates. It is critical that we incorporate evolutionary perspectives if we are to understand fundamental processes affecting community structure as well as assess the resilience of native populations to global change. Invasive fire ants and native lizards provide an excellent model for such research. Following fire ant invasion, the lizards develop novel defensive behavior that permits them to survive attack by these globally invasive ants. Ecological and evolutionary approaches will be employed in the field and laboratory to quantify the relative contributions of additive genetic variation and phenotypic plasticity to the development of this adaptive defensive behavior, and shed light on the role of evolutionary processes in the assembly and dynamics of natural communities. This research investigates how native communities respond to rapid environmental change, and provides critical information on the long-term impact of fire ants, an invasive species of global concern. The study will provide training opportunities for graduate and minority undergraduate students, and will directly involve K-12 students from minority-serving institutions. The local community will be engaged through displays and presentations of the results of this research.

引进非本地物种对全球生物多样性构成日益严重的威胁。本地物种可以以以前无法想象的速度对环境变化做出反应。这是至关重要的，我们纳入进化的观点，如果我们要了解影响社区结构的基本过程，以及评估本地人口对全球变化的适应能力。入侵的火蚁和本地蜥蜴为这种研究提供了一个很好的模型。在火蚁入侵后，蜥蜴发展出了新的防御行为，使它们能够在这些全球入侵的蚂蚁的攻击下生存下来。生态和进化的方法将在现场和实验室量化的相对贡献的添加剂遗传变异和表型可塑性的发展，这种适应性防御行为，并阐明进化过程中的作用，在组装和动态的自然社区。 这项研究调查了本土社区如何应对快速的环境变化，并提供了有关火蚁（一种全球关注的入侵物种）长期影响的关键信息。这项研究将为研究生和少数民族本科生提供培训机会，并将直接涉及少数民族服务机构的K-12学生。当地社区将通过展示和介绍这项研究的结果来参与。