Collaborative Research: BEE: Ecological and evolutionary processes affecting the co-existence of close relatives

当社区的生物多样性更丰富时，它们往往更稳定，生产力更高。影响生物多样性的一个关键因素是可以在同一时间生活在同一地点的物种数量。然而，并不是所有的物种都能共存，并且调节共存的规则也没有完全被理解。该项目调查了北美东部栖息地中密切相关的野花物种共存的因素。密切相关的物种可能具有相似的特征和相似的生态需求。一方面，相似性可能导致近亲更有可能生活在相同的环境中。另一方面，相似性可能会导致近亲在生长和繁殖过程中相互竞争或干扰，使近亲难以长期共存。长远的眼光很重要。最近，北美东部的冰川迫使物种向南迁移。这种迁移改变了冰川期后物种的地理分布，并可能增加了共同出现。这项研究将提高我们对生态和进化过程如何影响共存和生物多样性的理解。该项目将为学生提供广泛的培训。公众宣传将包括建立一个关于生物多样性和物种共存的博物馆展览。 研究小组将从北美东部24种本地半边莲物种的多个种群和标本记录中定位和采样，以记录它们的生活地点以及它们共同出现的频率。该研究将确定当今的共生模式如何受到生态和进化过程的影响，例如相关程度，性状相似性，栖息地特征或历史迁移。调查将包括通过微基因组学确定物种关系，通过微位点和性状表征确定每个物种生态位的关键组成部分，以及物种相互干扰生长或繁殖的程度。干扰是否会影响它们共存的可能性将通过对繁殖性状、实验性杂交和移植实验的实地测量来确定。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

When communities are more biodiverse, they tend to be more stable and more productive. A key factor affecting biodiversity is the number of species that can live in the same place at the same time. However, not all species can co-exist, and the rules regulating co-existence are not completely understood. This project investigates the factors governing the co-occurrence of closely related wildflower species in habitats throughout eastern North America. Closely related species are likely to have similar traits and similar ecological needs. On one hand, similarities may result in close relatives being more likely to live in the same environments. On the other hand, similarities may cause close relatives to compete or interfere with one another during growth and reproduction, making it difficult for close relatives to co-occur in the long term. The long-term view is important. Relatively recently, glaciers in eastern North America forced species to migrate southward. This migration changed species’ geographic distributions after glaciation and likely increased co-occurrence. This research will improve our understanding of how ecological and evolutionary processes affect co-existence and biodiversity. The project will provide broad training for students. Public outreach will include creation of a museum display on biodiversity and species co-existence. The research team will locate and sample from multiple populations and herbaria records of 24 native Lobelia species across their ranges in eastern North America to document where they live and how often they co-occur. The study will determine how present-day patterns of co-occurrence are affected by both ecological and evolutionary processes, such as degree of relatedness, trait similarity, habitat characteristics, or historical migration. Investigations will include determination of species relationships via phylogenomics, key components of each species’ niche via microsite and trait characterization, and the degree to which species interfere with one another’s growth or reproduction. Whether interference affects their likelihood of co-existing will be determined using field measurements of reproductive traits, experimental crosses, and transplant experiments.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.