Predator-induced effects on insect flight and dispersal across landscapes

解开支配个体运动的机制是理解个体命运的主要决定因素、种群、社区、生态系统的结构和动态以及生命的进化和多样性的关键。昆虫在飞行和扩散方面表现出显着的变化，这对于研究这些变化很重要，因为许多昆虫在生态和经济上都具有重要意义。此外，研究解释飞行和扩散变化的遗传和生态因素是基本的，因为飞行的进化预示着进化史上最广泛的动物辐射。在昆虫等有翼动物的进化过程中，捕食者为提高飞行性能而进行的选择，以避免被猎物吃掉是非常激烈的。然而，即使是当代捕食者诱导的选择也会影响昆虫的飞行特征以及随后的传播能力、倾向和传播者的命运，这一机制的理解是缺乏的。这项研究项目将通过调查捕食性鱼类如何影响昆虫的飞行特征和扩散来解决这一重要的知识差距。石蝇等昆虫在生命的一个阶段生活在河流中，在生命的最后阶段作为有翼昆虫生活在陆地上。通过四个相互关联的目标，这项研究将利用观察、实验和一个模型来提供第一批在生化、生理和形态水平上捕食者对飞行特征的影响的综合研究之一，以确定这些特征如何在生态上与扩散距离和方向性有关，以及它们与河网中景观规模的栖息地的相互作用。通过这样做，这项研究将改变人们对当代昆虫飞行和传播选择性药物的理解。这项研究的结果将为社会提供关于影响成虫在景观尺度上移动的因素的信息，其中一些成虫是人类害虫或病媒，并将对理解引入的捕食者对被捕食物种特征的影响产生影响。将研究和教育结合起来是这一项目的关键组成部分，将通过培训和指导至少10名本科生和一名研究生，并让他们在一个国际公认的外地站接触到充满活力的研究和教学社区来实现这一项目。向非科学家介绍淡水生物生物学的公众推广活动将通过落基山生物实验室的儿童自然营、成人科学之旅和公民科学极客周进行协调。

Unraveling the mechanisms that govern the movement of individuals is key to understanding a major determinant of the fates of individuals, the structure and dynamics of populations, communities, ecosystems, and the evolution and diversity of life. Insects exhibit remarkable variation in flight and dispersal that are important to investigate because many insects are ecologically and economically important. In addition, studying the genetic to ecological factors that explain variation in flight and dispersal is fundamental because the evolution of flight presaged the most extensive animal radiation in evolutionary history. Selection by predators for enhanced flight performance to escape being eaten by their prey was intense during the evolution of winged animals, such as insects. Yet, a mechanistic understanding by which even contemporary predator-induced selection affects insect flight traits and subsequent dispersal ability, propensity, and the fate of dispersers is lacking. This research project will address this important knowledge gap by investigating how predatory fish affect flight traits and dispersal of insects, such as stoneflies, that live in rivers during one life stage and on land as winged insects during their final life stage. Through four linked objectives, this research will use observations, experiments, and a model to provide one of the first integrative studies of predator effects on flight traits at the biochemical, physiological, and morphological levels, to determine how these traits are ecologically linked to dispersal distance and directionality, and their interaction with landscape-scale habitats in river networks. In so doing, this study will transform understanding of contemporary selective agents on insect flight and dispersal. Results from this research will benefit society by providing information on factors affecting landscape-scale movements of adult aquatic insects, some of which are human pests or disease vectors, and will have implications for understanding the impacts of introduced predators on traits of prey species. Integrating research and education are key components of this project that will be achieved by training and mentoring at least 10 undergraduates, plus a graduate student, and exposing them to a vibrant research and teaching community at an internationally recognized field station. Public outreach activities informing non-scientists about the biology of freshwater organisms will be coordinated through the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory's Kid's Nature Camp, Adult Science Tours, and Citizen Science Geek Week.