RCN: The Herbivory Variability Network: Expanding beyond the mean to embrace higher moments in the ecology and evolution of species interactions

变异对生物体间相互作用结果的重要性尚未得到充分研究。通常，生态和进化相互作用的研究集中在相互作用指标的手段，虽然这些指标的分布的其他方面，如方差和偏斜，也可以是生态和进化的关键。草食动物变异性研究协调网络将通过扩展思维来推动科学发展，超越对手段的关注，包括变异性本身的原因和后果。例如，温度和降水的变化对物种的表现和相互作用可能比平均值更重要。不太了解的是，一个物种在空间和时间上的丰度变化可以驱动它与其他物种相互作用的结果，甚至可能影响进化轨迹。由于气候变化和生物多样性丧失导致环境变异性增加和生物变异性减少，了解变异性在生态学和物种相互作用进化中的作用变得越来越重要。该网络将集中在草食动物，因为它是一个生态和经济上重要的相互作用，很容易测量，表现出很大的变化内和物种之间，是一个关键变量，在许多重要的生态和进化理论。然而，研究草食动物变异性的基础可以扩展到更好地理解任何类型的物种相互作用。由于相互作用变异性的原因和后果涉及如此多的学科，该网络将汇集生态学家、进化生物学家、数学家、统计学家、化学家和其他科学家，通过处理合成、理论、数据和教育项目的工作组进行合作，该项目还将提供研究培训机会。该项目将形成一个研究协调网络（食草动物变异性网络，“HerbVar”），它将汇集来自不同领域和职业阶段的科学家，共同目标是了解相互作用变异性的原因和后果。这个多样化的跨学科网络将（1）综合关于相互作用变异性的现有数据和知识，并确定今后工作的方向;（2）为研究物种相互作用的变异性组装一个定量工具箱;（3）协调全球分布的数据收集;以及（4）教育学生变异性的重要性以及如何研究它。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为是值得的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来提供支持。

The importance of variation to the outcomes of interactions between organisms is understudied. Typically, studies of ecological and evolutionary interactions focus on means of interaction metrics, although other aspects of distributions of those metrics, such as variance and skew, can also be critical for ecology and evolution. The Herbivory Variability Research Coordination Network will advance science by expanding thinking beyond a focus on means to include the causes and consequences of variability itself. To illustrate, variation in temperature and precipitation can be more important than averages to species performance and interactions. Less appreciated is that variation in the abundance of one species across space and time can drive the outcome of its interactions with other species and may even impact evolutionary trajectories. Understanding the role of variability in the ecology and evolution of species interactions is becoming increasingly important as climate change and biodiversity loss lead to increased environmental variability and decreased biological variability. The network will focus on herbivory because it is an ecologically and economically important interaction that is easy to measure, exhibits great variation within and among species, and is a key variable in many important ecological and evolutionary theories. The foundations developed for studying variability in herbivory, however, could be extended to better understand any type of species interactions. Because the causes and consequences of interaction variability relate to so many disciplines, the network will bring together ecologists, evolutionary biologists, mathematicians, statisticians, chemists, and other scientists to collaborate via working groups that tackle synthesis, theory, data, and education projects.This project will also afford research training opportunities. This project will form a Research Coordination Network (The Herbivory Variability Network, “HerbVar”), which will bring together scientists from across fields and career stages with the common goal of understanding the causes and consequences of interaction variability. This diverse and interdisciplinary network will (1) synthesize existing data and knowledge on interaction variability and identify directions for future work; (2) assemble a quantitative toolbox for studying variability in species interactions; (3) coordinate globally distributed data collection; and (4) educate students about the importance of variability and how to study it.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.