Collaborative Research: Herbivore interactions and plant responses: from foliar chemistry to communities

合作研究：草食动物相互作用和植物反应：从叶化学到群落

• 批准号: 1256826
• 负责人: Colin Orians
• 金额: $ 30万
• 依托单位: Tufts University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-07-15 至 2017-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1256826&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Herbivore; interactions; plant

This project seeks to understand how two invasive insect pests, the woolly adelgid and the hemlock scale, affect eastern hemlock trees. The woolly adelgid has devastated entire forests of hemlock along the east coast of North America, but the hemlock scale -- which is just as common -- has had minimal impact. Although common sense indicates that two pests are worse than one, research suggests the opposite. Intriguingly, trees infested with elongate scale seem somehow protected from the adelgid. Understanding why this happens and whether 'inoculation' with one pest might protect the tree from another type of pest requires understanding how trees defend themselves and respond to attack. Researchers have teamed up on a project that uses a combination of experiments and mathematical models to develop a 'road map' of plant responses to forest pests. Specifically, they will assess how each pest affects plant defenses and nutrient storage.Given the economic and ecological losses caused by many species of insect pests, it is tremendously important to develop a detailed understanding of how forests are impacted by (and might be protected from) multiple pests. By identifying the response pathway, the results of this study can be applied to other systems to predict the likely impact of multiple herbivores on forest health. This project also provides an opportunity for urban schoolchildren to learn more about nearby forests. The researchers have developed a partnership with SMILE (Science and Math Investigative Learning Experiences), a locally-based group that offers enrichment activities to children from poorly-performing school districts. Graduate students and SMILE staff will work with teachers to develop and implement a year-long educational module on forests and food webs. Funding provided by this award will be used to pay for field trips to local forests to help students learn about these systems and survey hemlocks for the presence of invasive pests.

该项目旨在了解两种入侵性害虫（毛蝽和铁杉鳞片）如何影响东部铁杉树。长毛阿德尔吉德毁坏了北美东海岸的整个铁杉森林，但同样常见的铁杉鳞片所造成的影响微乎其微。尽管常识表明两种害虫比一种害虫更严重，但研究表明事实恰恰相反。有趣的是，长有细长鳞片的树木似乎在某种程度上受到了阿德尔吉德的保护。要了解为什么会发生这种情况，以及“接种”一种害虫是否可以保护树木免受另一种害虫的侵害，需要了解树木如何保护自己并应对攻击。研究人员联手开展了一个项目，该项目结合实验和数学模型来制定植物应对森林害虫的“路线图”。具体来说，他们将评估每种害虫如何影响植物防御和养分储存。鉴于多种害虫造成的经济和生态损失，详细了解森林如何受到多种害虫的影响（并可能免受多种害虫的影响）非常重要。通过确定响应途径，这项研究的结果可以应用于其他系统，以预测多种食草动物对森林健康可能产生的影响。该项目还为城市学童提供了更多了解附近森林的机会。研究人员与 SMILE（科学和数学研究学习体验）建立了合作伙伴关系，SMILE 是一个当地组织，为来自表现不佳学区的儿童提供丰富活动。研究生和 SMILE 工作人员将与教师合作开发和实施为期一年的森林和食物网教育模块。该奖项提供的资金将用于支付当地森林的实地考察费用，以帮助学生了解这些系统并调查铁杉是否存在入侵害虫。