Collaborative Research: Evolution of adaptive synergism between mutualistic partners during range-limit evolution

合作研究：范围限制进化过程中互惠伙伴之间适应性协同的进化

• 批准号: 1354666
• 负责人: Ulrich Mueller
• 金额: $ 34.89万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Austin
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-05-01 至 2017-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1354666&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Evolution; adaptive; synergism

This research will elucidate how the ecological and evolutionary processes of interacting species will respond to climate change at their range limits, with implications for conservation of species in marginal habitat. Climate change alters species distributions, with major consequences for species embedded in complex ecological interactions, such as mutualistic symbioses (e.g., plant-pollinator or host-microbe mutualisms). This project focuses on an insect-fungus mutualism, leafcutter ants cultivating fungi for food, which are agricultural pests in the southwestern USA and throughout the New World. Leafcutter mutualisms are ideal to study how symbioses respond to climate change because leafcutter ants are dominant components in ecosystems, and because experimental ant-fungus combinations can be manipulated under laboratory conditions simulating the altered temperature stresses expected under climate change. This research adapts techniques developed for the study of gene-by-gene interactions within an organism to test whether ant-by-fungus synergy enhances temperature-stress adaptations and thus determines range-limits at the northern (USA) and southern (Uruguay/Argentina) distributional limits of leafcutter ants. Improved understanding of how interacting species respond to climate change has scientific and societal benefits, contributing to development of models for conservation of species in marginal habitat, and to models predicting whether mutualistic pest species may become more problematic under climate change. Collaborations with researchers in Uruguay and Argentina will provide training of US researchers in an international setting. This project is a collaboration among a major research institution, a regional institution, and an institution serving underrepresented students where some of the field research will be conducted, and will strengthen long term interactions and help foster enhanced STEM education initiatives. Furthermore, collaborations with researchers in Uruguay and Argentina will provide training of US researchers in an international setting. Workshops will be conducted at public schools, museums, and nature centers to foster understanding of local biodiversity, conservation, and challenges under environmental change.

这项研究将阐明相互作用的物种的生态和进化过程将如何应对气候变化的范围限制，在边缘栖息地的物种保护的影响。气候变化改变了物种的分布，对物种在复杂的生态相互作用中产生了重大影响，例如互惠共生（例如，植物-传粉者或宿主-微生物互惠关系）。这个项目的重点是昆虫-真菌共生，切叶蚁培养真菌作为食物，这是美国西南部和整个新大陆的农业害虫。切叶蚁互惠是研究共生体如何应对气候变化的理想选择，因为切叶蚁是生态系统中的主要组成部分，而且实验性的蚂蚁-真菌组合可以在实验室条件下模拟气候变化下预期的温度变化压力。本研究适应技术开发的基因的基因相互作用的研究在一个有机体，以测试是否蚂蚁真菌协同作用增强温度压力的适应，从而确定范围限制在北方（美国）和南部（乌拉圭/阿根廷）的切叶蚁的分布范围。更好地了解相互作用的物种如何应对气候变化具有科学和社会效益，有助于开发保护边缘栖息地物种的模型，并预测互利的害虫物种是否会在气候变化下变得更有问题。与乌拉圭和阿根廷研究人员的合作将为美国研究人员提供国际培训。该项目是一个主要研究机构，一个区域机构和一个为代表性不足的学生服务的机构之间的合作，其中一些实地研究将进行，并将加强长期互动，并有助于促进加强STEM教育举措。此外，与乌拉圭和阿根廷研究人员的合作将为美国研究人员提供国际培训。研讨会将在公立学校，博物馆和自然中心举行，以促进对当地生物多样性，保护和环境变化下的挑战的理解。