BEE: Testing the Rapid Evolution of the Determinants of Species Coexistence

生物学中的两个基本问题是：相似的物种如何共存以及它们如何推动彼此的进化？越来越清楚的是，决定共存和进化的机制可以相互影响，因此两者应该一起研究。这个项目填补了我们对这种相互作用的知识的一个关键空白，测试了为什么进化对竞争的反应有时会促进或有时会阻碍物种共存，导致生物多样性的丧失。该方法是将联合收割机新的实验进化方法与最近的生态理论分析相结合。这项研究是重要的，因为它将创建两个研究领域之间的更强的整合，桥接进化和社区生态学，通过提供一个深刻的理解，决定创建和维护生物多样性的过程之间的相互作用。此外，该项目将提供机会，增加代表性不足的群体对科学的参与，并制作教育研究工具包和教师培训讲习班，分发给城市和农村的高中。 众所周知的实地观察表明，在竞争中的进化应促进物种共存，然而，理论模型发现更大的多样性的结果，包括进化促进竞争排斥。为了理解为什么进化有时会阻碍或促进共存，本研究项目将通过进行操纵场进化实验并结合现代共存理论框架的分析来填补关键的经验空白。利用两种常见的浮萍，快速繁殖漂浮的水生植物，该项目将测试进化共存动态是如何由生态位差异（促进稳定共存的过程），竞争能力差异（促进竞争排斥的过程），以及它们的进化潜力（遗传方差）决定的。具体而言，它将首先量化的生态位和竞争能力的差异，并在自然种群的浮萍之间的遗传方差的变化。然后使用野外中尺度生态系统中的实验进化，它将测试这些特性如何在每个种群的竞争中进化。此外，本研究还将量化生态位和竞争能力差异在驱动进化共存动态中的相对重要性。该项目将通过利基和竞争能力差异来测试竞争、进化和共存之间的反馈。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Two fundamental questions in biology are: how do similar species coexist and how do they drive each other’s evolution? It is becoming clear that the mechanisms that dictate both coexistence and evolution can influence each other and thus both should be studied together. This project fills a critical gap in our knowledge of such interactions by testing why evolution in response to competition sometimes promotes or sometimes hinders species coexistence leading to a loss of biodiversity. The approach is to combine novel experimental evolution methods with analyses from recent ecological theory. This research is important because it will create a stronger integration between two research fields, bridging evolution and community ecology, by providing a deep understanding of the interactions between processes that dictate both the creation and the maintenance of biodiversity. In addition, this project will provide opportunities to increase the participation of underrepresented groups in science as well as create educational research kits, and teacher training workshops, that will be distributed to urban and rural high schools. Well known field observations suggest that evolution in response to competition should promote species coexistence, yet, theoretical models find a greater diversity of outcomes including evolution promoting competitive exclusion. To understand why evolution sometimes hinders or promotes coexistence, this research project will fill critical empirical gaps by conducting manipulative field evolution experiments combined with analyses from the modern coexistence theory framework. Using two common species of duckweed, rapidly reproducing floating aquatic plants, this project will test how evolutionary coexistence dynamics are dictated by niche differences (processes that promote stable coexistence), by competitive ability differences (processes that promote competitive exclusion), and their evolutionary potential (genetic variance). Specifically, it will first quantify variation in niche and competitive ability differences and in their genetic variance among natural populations of duckweed. Then using experimental evolution in field mesocosms, it will test how these properties evolve in response to competition in each population. In addition, this research will quantify the relative importance of niche and competitive ability differences in driving evolutionary coexistence dynamics. Together, this project will test the feedback between competition, evolution, and coexistence acting through niche and competitive ability differences.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.