Collaborative Research: Toward a General Theory of Body Size Across Space and Time

合作研究：跨时空身体尺寸的一般理论

• 批准号: 1028470
• 负责人: Mark Lomolino
• 金额: $ 9.56万
• 依托单位: SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
• 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: 2010-10-01 至 2016-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1028470&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Toward; General; Theory

One of the most important characteristics of organisms is their body size -- influencing all physiological processes, life history traits and, ultimately, each of the fundamental processes affecting the diversity and geography of life (immigration, evolution and extinction). Despite its fundamental and pervasive importance, body size varies tremendously among as well as within species. This variation, however, is far from random, exhibiting ecological, geographic and temporal trends that are so general and intriguing that they are termed ecogeographic "rules" of nature (e.g., Bergmann's rule, the island rule and Cope's rule). The investigators will conduct empirical research to develop an integrative theory that will provide a single conceptual construct in which to understand patterns of body size variation across space and time; patterns that are typically viewed as unrelated phenomena. The international and integrative research program the investigators have developed combines theoretical, experimental and comparative approaches across a range of disparate, but strategically selected species and over a broad range of time scales (from the recent and historic periods through the Pliocene), thus allowing them to explore the generality, antiquity and causality of geographic variation in this fundamental feature of life. The principal approach in this project will be to compare body sizes of museum specimens to test for predicted geographic and ecological trends among three focal groups of mammals: 1) mammals inhabiting paleo-islands during the Pliocene and Pleistocene; 2) extant, native mammals inhabiting islands across the globe, and 3) mammals introduced onto islands by Polynesians and by Europeans during the past 2000 years. This research will provide an integrative understanding of the factors influencing one of life's most fundamental characteristics -- body size, and its variation over space and time. Given that body size influences all physiological, behavioral and ecological characteristics of organisms, these studies will provide important information on the capacities of animals to adapt to environmental challenges including climate change and modification of native landscapes. The products of the fully funded research will include development of international partnerships between research labs in Europe, New Zealand and Hawaii, web access to all scientific data, mentoring of a Ph.D. level graduate research assistant and undergraduate assistants, development of an undergraduate field course in Biogeography, Evolution and Conservation of Insular Biotas, partnership with natural history museums to create an exhibit on The Evolution of Body Size on Islands, and consultations with conservation organizations to assist them in developing effective strategies for conserving not just diversity per se, but also a fundamental aspect of the natural character of native species -- their body size.

生物体最重要的特征之一是其体型-影响所有生理过程、生命史特征，并最终影响影响生物多样性和地理分布的每一个基本过程（移民、进化和灭绝）。 尽管身体大小具有根本性和普遍的重要性，但在物种之间以及物种内部，身体大小差异巨大。 然而，这种变化远非随机的，表现出生态、地理和时间趋势，这些趋势是如此普遍和有趣，以至于它们被称为自然的生态地理“规则”（例如，伯格曼法则、岛屿法则和科普法则）。 研究人员将进行实证研究，以开发一种综合理论，该理论将提供一个单一的概念结构，以了解身体大小在空间和时间上的变化模式;通常被视为不相关现象的模式。 研究人员开发的国际和综合研究计划将理论，实验和比较方法结合在一系列不同的，但战略性选择的物种和广泛的时间尺度上（从最近和历史时期到上新世），从而使他们能够探索生命这一基本特征的地理变异的普遍性，古老性和因果关系。 该项目的主要方法是比较博物馆标本的体型，以测试三个重点哺乳动物群体的预测地理和生态趋势：1）上新世和更新世期间居住在古岛屿的哺乳动物; 2）现存的，居住在地球仪岛屿上的本地哺乳动物; 3）过去2000年由波利尼西亚人和欧洲人引入岛屿的哺乳动物。 这项研究将提供对影响生命最基本特征之一的因素的综合理解-身体大小及其随空间和时间的变化。 鉴于身体大小影响生物体的所有生理、行为和生态特征，这些研究将提供有关动物适应环境挑战（包括气候变化和改变原生景观）能力的重要信息。 全额资助的研究成果将包括在欧洲、新西兰和夏威夷的研究实验室之间建立国际伙伴关系，通过网络访问所有科学数据，指导一名博士生。研究生研究助理和本科生助理，开发生物地理学、岛屿生物进化和保护的本科生实地课程，与自然历史博物馆合作举办“岛屿上生物体型的进化”展览，与保护组织协商，协助它们制定有效战略，不仅保护多样性本身，也是本地物种自然特征的一个基本方面--它们的体型。