EAPSI: Investigating the Role of Peripheral Habitats in the Adaptive Potential of Coral Reef Fishes

EAPSI：研究周边栖息地在珊瑚礁鱼类适应潜力中的作用

• 批准号: 1714082
• 负责人: May Roberts
• 金额: $ 0.54万
• 依托单位: Roberts May B
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-06-01 至 2018-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1714082&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAPSI; Investigating; Role; Peripheral; Habitats

Coral reef organisms and habitats are faced with a growing number of stressors, the effects of which are increasingly monitored and studied. Less is understood about the underlying genetics, the evolutionary tools for species to adapt and persist through some of these environmental changes. This study aims to identify whether the potential for local adaptation differs across populations within a species range by examining particular genetic characteristics in multiple coral reef fish species. Researchers will compare between populations of fishes at the center of their species range and those at the edges of the species range to test whether peripheral habitats may serve as regions harboring populations with greater adaptive potential. For this project, fish populations at their northern range boundary in the temperate coral reefs of Japan will be compared to populations at the center of their ranges in the tropical reefs of the Philippines and Indonesia. This study aims to increase understanding about the role of edge populations in local adaptation and speciation as well as to gain information to better predict the vulnerability of these species to changes in climate and environment. This research will be conducted under the mentorship of molecular biologist, Dr. James Reimer at the University of the Ryukyus. Dr. Reimer has valuable experience and insight on the population genetics of the marine system in this region and provides access and instruction to key field equipment and laboratory techniques.This project will consist of the collection of the edge population samples for eight reef fish species in Japan, subsequent DNA extractions, sequencing and finally, analyses. Study species were chosen in part, based on their distribution location and size, reproductive mode, and pelagic larval duration. Researchers suspect that these life history characteristics influence potential patterns in the targeted genetic indicators of adaptation and speciation. Samples collected during this study will be compared with previously collected Philippine and Indonesian samples. Using information generated from RAD sequencing of both population types, researchers will compare levels of genetic variation and the frequency of genes under selection between center and peripheral populations of each species. The findings from this research will help to answer whether these particular indictors of adaptive potential differ between populations within a species range in these reef fish. Further studies can then be conducted to better understand mechanisms of speciation, local adaptation, rapid evolution, as well as to improve the accuracy of future predictions for coral reef health. This award, under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program, supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

珊瑚礁生物和栖息地面临着越来越多的压力源，其影响受到越来越多的监测和研究。人们对潜在的遗传学、物种适应和坚持这些环境变化的进化工具了解甚少。本研究旨在通过检查多个珊瑚礁鱼类的特定遗传特征来确定一个物种范围内不同种群的局部适应潜力是否存在差异。研究人员将比较物种范围中心的鱼类种群和物种范​​围边缘的鱼类种群，以测试外围栖息地是否可以作为具有更大适应潜力的种群的栖息地。在该项目中，日本温带珊瑚礁北部范围边界的鱼类种群将与菲律宾和印度尼西亚热带珊瑚礁中心范围的鱼类种群进行比较。这项研究旨在加深对边缘种群在当地适应和物种形成中的作用的了解，并获取信息以更好地预测这些物种对气候和环境变化的脆弱性。这项研究将在琉球大学分子生物学家 James Reimer 博士的指导下进行。 Reimer 博士对该地区海洋系统的种群遗传学拥有宝贵的经验和见解，并提供关键现场设备和实验室技术的使用和指导。该项目将包括收集日本八种珊瑚礁鱼类的边缘种群样本，随后进行 DNA 提取、测序和最后的分析。研究物种的选择部分基于其分布位置和大小、繁殖方式以及浮游幼虫持续时间。研究人员怀疑这些生活史特征会影响适应和物种形成的目标遗传指标的潜在模式。本研究期间收集的样本将与之前收集的菲律宾和印度尼西亚样本进行比较。利用两种种群类型的 RAD 测序生成的信息，研究人员将比较每个物种的中心种群和外围种群之间的遗传变异水平和选择下的基因频率。这项研究的结果将有助于回答这些珊瑚鱼物种范围内的种群之间的适​​应潜力的特定指标是否存在差异。然后可以进行进一步的研究，以更好地了解物种形成、局部适应、快速进化的机制，并提高未来珊瑚礁健康预测的准确性。该奖项属于东亚和太平洋地区暑期学院计划，支持美国研究生的暑期研究，由美国国家科学基金会和日本科学振兴会共同资助。