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

国际 DDEP：亚洲草原上的蚱蜢迁徙：调查饮食作为多型现象的线索

• 批准号: 1026182
• 负责人: Jon Harrison
• 金额: $ 1.5万
• 依托单位: Arizona State University
• 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: 2010-05-01 至 2012-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1026182&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: International; DDEP; Grasshopper; migration; Asian

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.

这个博士论文增强奖将支持中国蝗虫迁徙的实地研究。亚利桑那州州立大学学生Arianne Case说。 本研究将探讨几个具体的问题，包括：1）蝗虫的迁飞形式是由上级还是劣质的食物质量造成的？2)迁移型和非迁移型之间的转换是否可以由特定植物特征的变化（如氮、碳、磷或生物碱含量）触发？3)过度放牧是否通过降低植物营养质量来刺激迁徙型的形成？为了解决这些问题，将在实验室中操纵亚洲小车蝗的密度和饮食，并在现场观察，发育蝗虫的形态，生理和行为反应将被记录。该奖项将促进一批由NSF资助的生态学家和昆虫生理学家与中国蝗虫生物学家和草原植物学家的高度跨学科合作。由该奖项资助的合作活动将包括在北京生命科学研究所和昆虫鼠害综合治理国家重点实验室进行的研究，涉及多名中国和美国科学家。最后，这项研究将为了解和预防灾害性蝗群提供必要的关键数据。 在疫情爆发的年份，成群的蝗虫（蝗虫）可以在全世界1 100万平方英里的土地上繁殖，对60多个国家和每10人中就有1人的生计产生负面影响。据预测，全球气候变化将增加降水量的变化，并可能加剧蝗灾。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群，但可能导致这种发育可塑性的具体饮食线索尚不清楚。本研究将使用蚱蜢O来调查中国的这个问题。亚洲飞蝗是亚洲两种重要的经济蝗虫之一。这项研究还将建立长期的国际研究联系，并促进全球参与的科学工作者专注于一个重要的农业问题。