International DDEP: Grasshopper migration in the Asian steppe: investigating diet as a cue for polyphenism

这一博士论文增强奖将支持亚利桑那州立大学博士生阿里安娜·赛义德在中国对蝗虫迁徙的实地研究。这项研究将解决几个具体问题，包括：1)蝗虫的迁徙形式是由优质还是劣质的饮食质量造成的？2)迁徙形式和非迁徙形式之间的转换是否会由特定植物特征的变化引发，如氮、碳、磷或生物碱的含量？3)过度放牧是否通过降低植物营养质量来刺激迁徙形式的形成？为了解决这些问题，将在实验室对亚洲斑潜蝇的密度和食物进行操纵并在野外进行观察，并记录发育中的蝗虫的形态、生理和行为反应。该奖项将促进一组由美国国家科学基金会资助的生态学家和昆虫生理学家与中国的蝗虫生物学家和草原植物学家进行的高度跨学科的合作。该奖项资助的合作活动将包括由多名中美科学家参与的北京生命科学研究院和害虫与鼠害综合治理国家重点实验室的研究。最后，这项研究将为理解和潜在地防止灾难性的蝗虫成群提供必要的关键数据。在暴发年，成群的蝗虫(蝗虫)可在全世界1100万平方英里的土地上繁殖，对60多个国家和每10个人中就有1人的生计造成负面影响。据预测，全球气候变化将增加降水变异性，并可能加剧蝗虫暴发。虽然人们经常假设，与环境条件恶化有关的饮食线索可能会引发蝗虫成群，但可能导致这种发育可塑性的具体饮食线索尚不清楚。这项研究将以亚洲蝗虫为例，在《中国》一书中探讨这一问题。亚洲蝗虫是亚洲两种重要的爆发蝗虫之一。这项研究还将建立长期的国际研究联系，并促进一支专注于一个重要农业问题的全球参与的科学队伍。

This Doctoral Dissertation Enhancement award will support field research on grasshopper migration in China by Ph.D. student Arianne Cease of Arizona State University. Several specific questions will be addressed in this research including: 1) Do migratory forms of grasshopper result from superior or inferior diet quality? 2) Can transitions between migratory and nonmigratory forms be triggered by changes in specific plant characteristics, such as nitrogen, carbon, phosphorus, or alkaloid content? 3) Does overgrazing stimulate formation of migratory forms by lowering plant nutritional quality? To address these questions, the density and diet of Oedaleus asiaticus will be manipulated in the lab and observed in the field, and morphological, physiological and behavioral responses of developing grasshoppers will be recorded. This award will promote a highly interdisciplinary collaboration by a group of NSF-funded ecologists and insect physiologists with grasshopper biologists and grassland botanists in China. Collaborative activities funded by this award will include research at the Beijing Institute of Life Sciences and the State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Insect & Rodent Pests involving multiple Chinese and US scientists. Finally, this research will provide critical data necessary to understand and potentially prevent disastrous locust swarms. During an outbreak year, swarming grasshoppers (locusts) can populate 11 million square miles of land worldwide, negatively affecting more than 60 countries and the livelihood of 1 out of every 10 people. Global climate change is predicted to increase precipitation variability and perhaps exacerbate locust outbreaks. While it is often hypothesized that dietary cues related to deteriorating environmental conditions might trigger locust swarms, the specific dietary cues that may cause this developmental plasticity are unknown. This research will investigate the question in China, using the grasshopper O. asiaticus, one of two economically important outbreak locusts in Asia. This research will also establish long-term international research ties and promote a globally engaged scientific workforce focused on an important agricultural problem.