The Impacts of Dispersal and Genetic Diversity on the Stability of Environmentally Forced Metacommunities

人们普遍认为，人类活动造成的环境变化对我们地球的生物多样性产生了重大的负面影响。由此产生的两个科学挑战是确定生物多样性的减少如何影响生态系统的健康，以及如何保持生物多样性。物种种群内发现的遗传变异是生物多样性的一个重要组成部分，对于种群在不断变化的环境条件下的适应和持久性至关重要。人们对这种变异对自然群落和生态系统的影响知之甚少。该项目将淡水池塘的户外实验与数学模型相结合，以确定这些影响。研究人员将确定个体之间的遗传多样性是否可以稳定自然群落，使它们能够在面对环境变化时坚持下去，以及个体在群落之间的运输是否可以保持遗传多样性，从而促进这种稳定作用。该项目将为韦恩州立大学的本科生和研究生提供水生生态学的研究机会。韦恩州立大学的少数族裔入学率为37%，是密歇根州最多元化的大学学生群体。这种多样性增加了调查人员的机会，使代表性不足的群体参与实际研究经验。该项目还将为研究生提供支持，他们将在夏季进行实验，监督本科生研究项目，并有机会开发自己的独立研究项目。研究重点是淡水池塘，这些栖息地为社会提供了多样化的生态系统服务。研究结果将为土地管理者和保护生物学家提供信息，他们将努力保持这些栖息地处于健康状态。

Environmental change produced by human activities is widely recognized as having major negative effects on our planet's biodiversity. Two of the resulting scientific challenges are to determine how reductions in biodiversity influence the health of ecosystems, and how biodiversity can be maintained. Genetic variation found within populations of species is a critical component of biodiversity and is essential for population adaptation and persistence in the face of changing environmental conditions. Little is known about the effects of this variation on natural communities and ecosystems. This project combines outdoor experiments in freshwater ponds with mathematical models to identify these effects. The investigator will determine if genetic diversity among individuals can stabilize natural communities, allowing them to persist in the face environmental change, and if the transport of individuals among communities can maintain genetic diversity and thus promote this stabilizing effect.This project will provide research opportunities in aquatic ecology for undergraduate and graduate students at Wayne State University. With a minority enrollment of 37%, Wayne State University has the most diverse university student body in Michigan. This diversity increases the investigator's opportunities to involve under-represented groups in hands-on research experiences. This project will also provide support for graduate students who will carry out experiments during summers, supervise undergraduate research projects, and have the opportunity to develop their own independent research projects. The research focuses on freshwater ponds, and these habitats provide diverse ecosystem services to society. Results will inform land managers and conservation biologists who strive to maintain these habitats in a healthy state.