Dissertation Research: The effect of cognitive disturbance on functionally-relevant plastic behavioral responses

论文研究：认知障碍对功能相关可塑性行为反应的影响

• 批准号: 1501928
• 负责人: Berry Brosi
• 金额: $ 2.03万
• 依托单位: Emory University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-04-15 至 2017-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1501928&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; effect; cognitive; disturbance

Ecosystems provide an invaluable suite of services to people, including cleaning air and water, cycling nutrients, preventing floods, and pollinating crops. A recent finding from the science of ecology is that more of these "ecosystem services" are provided in areas that contain many species of plants and animals than in areas that contain fewer; biodiversity has practical benefits. Studies of this relationship between species diversity and ecosystem services have focused on how physical differences between species are important in determining the services provided by a community (a group of species living in the same area). Recent studies, however, suggest that changes in animal behavior can also promote ecosystem services. Thus, it is important to understand how behaviors will be affected by environmental change, including chemical pollutants. This study will examine how pesticides affect bee behaviors important for plant pollination, including behaviors that depend on the number of species in a community. If pesticides disrupt the relationship between biodiversity and pollination services, they could have negative consequences for both native plant reproduction and the productivity of agricultural systems. This study will examine the effect of sub-lethal neonicotinoid pesticide exposure on pollination-relevant bee foraging behaviors in both single and multiple species contexts. The behavior of pesticide-treated and control bees will be compared in laboratory experiments that use artificial flowers with computer-controlled nectar replenishment. Bee foraging behavior will be measured using RFID technology, which allows for exact tracking of bee movements. The researchers will measure pollination-relevant behaviors, including visitation rates, floral fidelity (temporary specialization on a particular flower type), and flower visitation evenness (the degree to which all flower species receive pollination services). It is hypothesized that pesticide exposure will affect bee species differently, altering competitive outcomes and modulating behaviorally-mediated biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships.

生态系统为人类提供了一整套宝贵的服务，包括净化空气和水、循环营养物质、防止洪水和为作物授粉。生态科学最近的一项发现是，在动植物物种较多的地区提供的“生态系统服务”比在动植物物种较少的地区提供的服务更多；生物多样性具有实际好处。对物种多样性和生态系统服务之间这种关系的研究侧重于物种之间的物理差异在确定一个群落(生活在同一地区的一组物种)所提供的服务方面是如何重要的。然而，最近的研究表明，动物行为的改变也可以促进生态系统服务。因此，重要的是要了解环境变化对行为的影响，包括化学污染物。这项研究将研究杀虫剂如何影响对植物授粉重要的蜜蜂行为，包括取决于群落中物种数量的行为。如果杀虫剂破坏了生物多样性和授粉服务之间的关系，它们可能会对本地植物繁殖和农业系统的生产力产生负面影响。这项研究将考察亚致死的新烟碱类农药暴露对单种和多种环境中与授粉相关的蜜蜂觅食行为的影响。在使用计算机控制的花蜜补给的人造花朵的实验室实验中，将比较经过杀虫剂处理的蜜蜂和对照蜜蜂的行为。蜜蜂的觅食行为将使用RFID技术进行测量，该技术可以准确跟踪蜜蜂的活动。研究人员将测量与授粉相关的行为，包括访视率、花卉保真度(特定花型的临时专门化)和花访均匀度(所有花种接受授粉服务的程度)。据推测，农药暴露将以不同的方式影响蜜蜂物种，改变竞争结果，并调节行为介导的生物多样性-生态系统功能关系。