SG: RUI: Pollinator competition and plant competition as mechanisms for evolutionary diversification in two hummingbird-pollinated plants of the Caribbean

生态学家长期以来一直试图了解物种内部和物种之间的竞争相互作用如何形成自然群落中物种多样性的模式。植物与传粉者之间的竞争在很大程度上不同于动物物种之间的竞争：传粉者争夺植物的程度可能与植物争夺传粉者的程度相同。本项目探讨了竞争传粉者分配开花植物的机制，以及这种分配是否导致花的多样化。研究人员将通过在模拟自然系统的大型封闭花园中进行实验和野外测量野生植物种群的自然选择来确定机制。该研究通过直接将消费传粉媒介之间的生态相互作用与其共生植物资源的自然选择联系起来，为生态动力学研究增加了重要的概念组成部分。该项目是一个本科学院和一个研究机构之间的合作项目。至少有10名本科生将参与这项工作的各个方面，从在封闭的花园里用蜂鸟进行实验，到测量野生种群中植物的选择和繁殖成功率，再到对数据进行统计分析。来自东道国西印度群岛多米尼加的个人将参加实地和实验室研究，以加强国际合作，并在项目完成后在东道国提供持久的知识。调查结果将通过美国和多米尼加杂志上的热门文章、美国的播客、电台采访和多米尼加和美国的公开讲座、部门网站以及史密森学会的公开展览向公众传播。

Ecologists have long sought to understand how competitive interactions within and between species shape patterns of species diversity in natural communities. Plant-pollinator competition differs from competition among animal species in a significant way: pollinators may compete for plants as much as plants compete for pollinators. This project examines the mechanisms by which competing pollinators partition flowering plants and whether such partitioning leads to floral diversification. The researchers will identify mechanisms using a combination of experiments in a large, enclosed garden mimicking a natural system, and field measurements of natural selection in wild populations of plants. The research adds a significant conceptual component to studies of ecological dynamics by directly linking ecological interactions between consuming pollinators to natural selection of their mutualist plant resources.The project is a collaboration between an undergraduate college and a research institution. A minimum of ten undergraduates will be involved in every aspect of the work, from experiments with hummingbirds in the enclosed garden, to measurements of selection and reproductive success of plants in wild populations, to statistical analyses of data. Individuals from the host country of Dominica, West Indies, will participate in the field and laboratory studies to strengthen an international collaboration and to provide lasting knowledge in the host country once the project is completed. Findings will be disseminated to the public through popular articles in magazines in the USA and Dominica, podcasts in the USA, radio interviews and public lectures on Dominica and in the USA, on departmental websites, and public exhibits at the Smithsonian Institution.