CAREER: Colonization, dispersal, and foraging ecology of native bees in human-altered landscapes

鉴于管理和本地传粉者的普遍下降，以及全球对传粉者依赖作物的依赖日益增加，迫切需要建立对传粉者种群动态的机械理解。该研究利用种群遗传学、觅食生态学和地理空间工具，为本地传粉者建立了第一个空间和时间上明确的种群模型。这是一种基础研究，将增加我们对传粉者提供的生态系统服务的理解。具体而言，本项目的研究目标是：1）测量土地利用对四种关键传粉昆虫筑巢动态和有效种群规模的影响，2）计算生殖传粉昆虫的精确扩散距离和由此产生的基因流，3）计算不同时间段和资源分布的传粉昆虫物种的最大和平均觅食范围，（4）建立一个时空上明确的传粉者种群模型。一套不同的工具将被利用在拟议的研究，包括基于遗传和基于花粉的觅食重建，产生的第一个方法学比较估计的资源利用和运动动态的传粉者之一。拟议的研究提供了一个独特的机会，建立一个高度相关的公共宣传和教育计划在德克萨斯州中部的一个快速城市化和农业依赖地区的心脏。该计划将通过研究和教学活动的协同整合进行，包括加强本科生在实验室和现场的参与，与K-12教师的合作，以及景观遗传学研究生课程的开发。拟议的外联工作是面向发展大学和社区成员之间的长期联系，并包括一个传粉者生物学公开研讨会系列和公民科学传粉者监测研讨会。该奖项的主要研究者在公民科学方面拥有丰富的经验，并将利用监测研讨会作为在当地城市和农业社区建立科学素养的机会，这些社区通常在STEM领域代表性不足。这项研究的更广泛的应用是开发机械知情的土地管理策略，以改善传粉者的保护及其作为生态系统服务提供者的关键作用。

Given widespread declines in managed and native pollinators and increasing global reliance on pollinator-dependent crops, there is an acute need to develop a mechanistic understanding of pollinator population dynamics. The proposed research utilizes population genetics, foraging ecology, and geospatial tools to develop the first spatially and temporally explicit population model for native pollinators. This is the type of fundamental research that will increase our understanding of ecosystem services provided by pollinators. Specifically, the research objectives of this project are: 1) measurement of land-use impacts on the nesting dynamics and effective population sizes of four critical pollinator species, 2) calculation of exact dispersal distances made by reproductive pollinators and resulting gene flow, 3) computation of maximum and average foraging range of pollinator species across time periods and resource distributions, and 4) creation of a spatially and temporally explicit pollinator population model. A diverse suite of tools will be utilized in the proposed research, including genetic-based and pollen-based foraging reconstruction, yielding one of the first methodologically comparative estimates of resource use and movement dynamics for pollinators.The proposed research provides a unique opportunity to build a highly relevant public outreach and education program in the heart of a rapidly urbanizing and agriculturally-dependent region in central Texas. The program will be carried out through a synergistic integration of research and teaching activities, including enhanced undergraduate involvement in the lab and field, collaboration with K-12 teachers, and development of a graduate-level course in landscape genetics. The proposed outreach efforts are oriented towards developing long-term connections between the university and community members, and include a Pollinator Biology public seminar series and a Citizen Science Pollinator Monitoring Workshop. The Principal Investigator of this award has experience in Citizen Science and will use the Monitoring Workshop as an opportunity to build science literacy within local urban and agricultural communities that are typically underrepresented in the STEM fields. The broader restoration-orientation application of this research is the development of mechanistically-informed land management strategies for improved conservation of pollinators and their critical role as ecosystem service providers.