Biological Invasions, Range Pinning, and Adaptive Evolution of Quantitative Traits

生物入侵、范围锁定和数量性状的适应性进化

• 批准号: 1615126
• 负责人: Judith Miller
• 金额: $ 34.98万
• 依托单位: Georgetown University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-09-01 至 2020-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1615126&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Biological; Invasions; Range; Pinning; Adaptive

This research focuses on the development and analysis of mathematical models of adaptive evolution in populations distributed over a territory. The main focus is on quantitative traits (characteristics like body size affected by many genes), which have been studied less in this context than traits determined by a single gene. A combination of rigorous pencil-and-paper analysis and computer simulation is used to provide insight into how evolution affects the speed, success and ultimate extent of biological invasions. The results can inform thinking on environmental management issues, such as deciding how to allocate conservation measures among marginal or central populations. By elucidating general principles that can guide the construction and interpretation of more specific models for management of natural populations, this research helps to address the economically important environmental challenges of management of invasive species and response to climate change.Mathematically, this project will result in the development of new methods for proving existence and stability of localized solutions (representing populations whose territory is not expanding) and traveling waves (representing invasive species), for a class of differential equations and similar systems that do not admit analysis via commonly employed methods. Specifically, this analysis will result in the development of new methods for proving existence and stability of localized solutions and traveling waves, for a class of biologically meaningful systems that do not admit analysis via phase plane or comparison principle methods. Since those techniques cannot readily be extended to many systems or equations, progress in devising alternative approaches will help to fill a significant gap. Biologically, the resulting analysis of general range dynamics models involving quantitative traits will contribute to understanding of the interplay between gene flow and numerous other demographic, genetic and environmental factors that help shape a population's distribution in space and time. It will highlight factors, such as long-distance dispersal and habitat patchiness, that are not yet integrated into the relevant theory. This work will help show how incorporating adaptive genetic change into invasion models alters the predictions of such models.

本研究的重点是发展和分析分布在一个领土上的种群适应进化的数学模型。主要关注的是数量性状（如受许多基因影响的体型等特征），在这方面的研究比由单个基因决定的性状少。严谨的纸笔分析和计算机模拟相结合，为进化如何影响生物入侵的速度、成功和最终程度提供了洞见。研究结果可以为环境管理问题的思考提供信息，例如决定如何在边缘或中心种群中分配保护措施。通过阐明可以指导构建和解释更具体的自然种群管理模型的一般原则，本研究有助于解决入侵物种管理和应对气候变化的经济上重要的环境挑战。在数学上，该项目将导致开发新的方法来证明局部解（代表领土未扩展的种群）和行波（代表入侵物种）的存在性和稳定性，用于一类微分方程和类似系统，这些系统不允许通过常用方法进行分析。具体来说，这种分析将导致新方法的发展，以证明局域解和行波的存在性和稳定性，对于一类不允许通过相平面或比较原理方法进行分析的具有生物学意义的系统。由于这些技术不能轻易地推广到许多系统或方程式，设计替代方法方面的进展将有助于填补一个重大的空白。在生物学上，对涉及数量性状的一般范围动力学模型的分析结果将有助于理解基因流动与许多其他有助于塑造种群在空间和时间分布的人口、遗传和环境因素之间的相互作用。它将突出一些尚未纳入相关理论的因素，如长距离扩散和栖息地的斑块性。这项工作将有助于展示将适应性基因变化纳入入侵模型如何改变这些模型的预测。