Collaborative Research: IRES: Tropical Research Experience in Ecological Science (TREES): Regeneration dynamics in a hyper-diverse tropical forest

合作研究：IRES：生态科学热带研究经验（TREES）：超多样化热带森林的再生动态

• 批准号: 2107116
• 负责人: Simon Queenborough
• 金额: $ 14.23万
• 依托单位: Yale University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-09-01 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2107116&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; IRES; Tropical; Experience

The number and severity of abnormal weather events, such as storms and droughts, have increased in recent decades all over the world. In the tropical forests of South America, two large drought events occurred in 2005 and 2010, and more will likely happen in the future. Although most tropical forests have a regular and predictable dry season that lasts several months, those that lie in the northwestern corner of the Amazon region do not. Here, high rainfall occurs in every month of the year, and researchers think that these forests may be hit particularly hard by lower rainfall. No one knows if these trees have had any previous experience of drought conditions. If they do grow poorly or die when there is no rain, then the kinds of trees that make up these forests may be quite different in future, leading to changes in how the forest works, as well as in the availability of food for animals and resources for people. This International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) project will carry out experiments to look at how tree seedlings of this area respond to drought, and how drought affects the other animals that interact with trees. The award addresses a critical scientific challenge while building capacity and experience in field and lab techniques among U.S. graduate and undergraduate students. To this end, we will mentor six U.S. students every year during the spring semester before, and fall semester after, they embark on an overseas research experience in Ecuador, working with long-term collaborators of PIs Queenborough and Metz at Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador, as well as with Ecuadorian students. Masters’ and undergraduate students from Yale University will be paired with undergraduates from Lewis & Clark College, a primarily undergraduate institution, to develop and conduct ecological research in a remote field station in the Amazon rain forest: Yasuni National Park.This project will address a key knowledge gap in forest ecology and climate change science: how do aseasonal ever-wet tropical forests respond to drought and natural enemies? The answer has clear implications for theoretical ecology (how infrequent disturbance, i.e., drought, affects the dynamics and composition of diverse ecological communities), climate change ecology (how forest structure, composition and distribution will likely change in the future), and policy (whether tropical forests remain a net carbon sink, or switch to a net carbon source thereby accelerating climate change). Tropical aseasonal ever-wet rain forests are characterized by high rainfall and no dry season, as well as high biological diversity and globally significant carbon stocks. However, anthropogenic climate change is predicted to lead to increases in the frequency and severity of droughts in South America. Drought is expected to act synergistically with other abiotic and biotic factors such as the pests and pathogens that drive the negative density-dependence that helps maintain the high diversity found in the tropics. Recent work has focused on the impacts of drought on tropical seasonal forests, yet virtually nothing is known about how pest and pathogen pressure varies with water availability in the aseasonal ever-wet tropics nor how increasing drying may change the structure and function of these forests. This project, therefore, will investigate the interaction between climate and natural enemies on the performance of trees in a hyper-diverse, aseasonal tropical rain forest in the northwestern Amazon. Specifically, the research team will use experiments to test the effect of variation in water availability on pest and pathogen attack on young seedlings and how these effects will likely alter the strength and direction of negative density dependence; this information will transform current theoretical understanding of how these two factors affect tree performance, diversity, and distributions. Results will also provide key information on how these economically and ecologically valuable, yet largely unknown, forests will change in a future of increasing drought. The prime goal of this project is to build capacity and experience in field and lab techniques among U.S. graduate and undergraduate students. To this end, the PIs will mentor six U.S. students every year during the spring semester before, and fall semester after, they embark on an overseas research experience in Ecuador, working with long-term collaborators of PIs Queenborough and Metz at Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador, as well as with Ecuadorian students. Masters and undergraduate students from Yale University will be paired with undergraduates from Lewis & Clark College, a primarily undergraduate institution, to develop and conduct ecological research in a remote field station in the Amazon rain forest: Yasuni National Park. Yasuni National Park and the associated Forest Dynamics Plot are unique scientific resources. Exposing U.S. students to the incredible richness of the most diverse forest in the world is an inspiring and humbling experience. Students will be involved in meaningful research that is directly contributing to a broad understanding of the fundamental mechanisms that structure ecosystems and communities. Ensuring that students understand how such science is conducted and how they can contribute is essential for how future generations decide to manage the world they inherit.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.

近几十年来，世界各地风暴和干旱等异常天气事件的数量和严重程度都有所增加。在南美洲的热带森林中，2005年和2010年发生了两次大的干旱事件，未来可能还会发生更多的干旱事件。尽管大多数热带森林都有持续数月的定期且可预测的旱季，但位于亚马逊地区西北角的热带森林却没有。在这里，一年中的每个月都有高降雨量，研究人员认为这些森林可能会受到降雨量减少的特别严重的打击。没有人知道这些树以前是否经历过干旱。如果它们在没有雨水的情况下生长不良或死亡，那么构成这些森林的树木种类在未来可能会大不相同，导致森林运作方式的变化，以及动物食物和人类资源的可用性。这个国际学生研究经验（IRES）项目将进行实验，看看该地区的树苗如何应对干旱，以及干旱如何影响与树木互动的其他动物。该奖项解决了一个关键的科学挑战，同时在美国研究生和本科生中建立现场和实验室技术的能力和经验。为此，我们将指导六名美国学生每年春季学期之前，秋季学期之后，他们开始在厄瓜多尔的海外研究经验，与厄瓜多尔天主教大学的PIs Queenborough和梅斯的长期合作者以及厄瓜多尔学生一起工作。来自耶鲁大学的硕士生和本科生将与刘易斯克拉克学院的本科生配对，在亚马逊雨林的一个偏远野外站：亚苏尼国家公园开展生态研究。该项目将解决森林生态学和气候变化科学中的一个关键知识缺口：季节性常湿热带森林如何应对干旱和天敌？答案对理论生态学有明确的含义（如何不频繁的干扰，即，气候变化生态学（森林结构、组成和分布今后可能如何变化）和政策（热带森林是否仍然是净碳汇，还是转为净碳源从而加速气候变化）。热带季节性常湿雨林的特点是降雨量高，没有旱季，生物多样性高，碳储量在全球具有重要意义。然而，预计人为气候变化将导致南美洲干旱的频率和严重程度增加。干旱预计将与其他非生物和生物因素协同作用，如害虫和病原体，推动负密度依赖，有助于保持热带地区的高度多样性。最近的工作集中在干旱对热带季节性森林的影响，但几乎没有什么是已知的害虫和病原体的压力如何随水的可用性在季节性的不断潮湿的热带地区，也没有增加干燥可能会改变这些森林的结构和功能。因此，本项目将调查亚马逊西北部高度多样化的季节性热带雨林中气候和天敌对树木表现的相互作用。具体来说，研究小组将使用实验来测试水的可用性变化对害虫和病原体攻击幼苗的影响，以及这些影响如何可能改变负密度依赖的强度和方向;这些信息将改变目前对这两个因素如何影响树木性能，多样性和分布的理论理解。研究结果还将提供关键信息，说明这些具有经济和生态价值但在很大程度上未知的森林在未来干旱加剧的情况下将如何变化。该项目的主要目标是在美国研究生和本科生中建立现场和实验室技术的能力和经验。为此，PI将指导六名美国学生每年在春季学期之前，秋季学期之后，他们开始在厄瓜多尔的海外研究经验，与Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador的PI Queenborough和梅斯的长期合作者以及厄瓜多尔学生一起工作。耶鲁大学的硕士和本科生将与刘易斯克拉克学院的本科生配对，这是一所以本科为主的学院，他们将在亚马逊雨林的一个偏远野外站：亚苏尼国家公园开展生态研究。亚苏尼国家公园和相关的森林动力学地块是独特的科学资源。让美国学生接触世界上最多样化的森林的令人难以置信的丰富性是一种鼓舞人心和令人谦卑的体验。学生将参与有意义的研究，这是直接有助于结构生态系统和社区的基本机制的广泛理解。确保学生了解这些科学是如何进行的，以及他们如何做出贡献，对于后代决定如何管理他们继承的世界至关重要。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。