Climate warming and the collapse of trade-offs mediating species coexistence

这个项目将调查竞争和躲避捕食者之间的权衡如何受到气候变暖的影响。没有一个单一的物种能够同时在所有事情上都做到最好。的确，在生活的某一方面表现出色往往意味着在另一方面表现不佳。这样的权衡之一是，善于躲避捕食者的物种往往是较差的竞争对手。同样，强大的竞争对手往往不善于躲避捕食者。这种权衡有助于维持群落的生物多样性，因为它可以防止任何一个物种占据主导地位。然而，竞争和捕食对温度很敏感，并不是所有物种对变暖的反应都相同。因此，在气候变暖的情况下，竞争和躲避捕食者之间的权衡可能会发生变化。改变这种权衡可能导致生物多样性和关键生态系统服务的丧失。该项目将培养未来K-12科学教育者的科学探究能力。此外，该项目将让本科生参与研究，并将向研究生传授现代研究技术。教育和科学培训将共同为公民提供机会，批判性地思考为什么我们不断变化的地球上的生物多样性正在改变。许多研究表明，气候变暖会改变生态群落中共同生活的物种的数量和类型。然而，导致这些物种共存变化的机制尚不清楚。这项研究将利用淡水豆娘的实验来发展对气候变暖如何影响竞争和捕食之间权衡的机制理解。该项目将使用实验室实验来确定竞争和捕食如何受到温度升高的影响。实验之后将进行定量遗传研究，以评估竞争与捕食之间权衡所涉及的性状的遗传基础。最后，该项目将使用实地实验来测试变暖如何影响大型生态系统中物种的共存。权衡取舍是群落生态学和进化生物学的核心原则。因此，研究结果将对理解社区是如何以及为什么构成的以及未来可能发生的变化产生影响。此外，该项目将研究物种如何进化以在社区中持续存在。总的来说，这些研究建立了一个全面的研究项目，建立了一个机制基础，将行为、生理和进化过程联系起来，这些过程决定了气候变暖将如何影响物种共存的能力。该项目由人口与社区生态学、促进竞争研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）和进化过程共同资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

This project will investigate how trade-offs between competition and avoiding predators may be affected by climate warming. No single species can simultaneously be best at everything it has to do to survive. Indeed, performing well at one facet of life often means doing poorer at another. One such trade-off is that species that are better at avoiding predators are often poorer competitors. Likewise, species that are strong competitors are often bad at avoiding predators. This trade-off helps maintain biodiversity in communities since it prevents any one species from dominating. However, competition and predation are sensitive to temperature and not all species may respond identically to warming. Consequently, the trade-off between competition and predator avoidance may change in a warming climate. Altering this trade-off may result in a loss of biodiversity and critical ecosystem services. This project will train future K-12 science educators in scientific inquiry. Additionally, the project will involve undergraduate students in research and will teach graduate students about modern research techniques. Together, the education and scientific training will provide opportunities for citizens to think critically about why biodiversity is being altered on our changing planet.Many studies have shown that climate warming can change the number and type of species that live together in ecological communities. Yet, the mechanisms that lead to these changes in species coexistence are unclear. This research will use experiments on freshwater damselflies to develop a mechanistic understanding of how climate warming affects trade-offs between competition and predation. The project will use laboratory experiments to determine how competition and predation are affected by increased temperature. The experiments will be followed by a quantitative genetic study that will assess the genetic basis of the traits involved in the trade-off between competition and predation. Last, the project will use field experiments to test how warming affects species coexistence in large mesocosms. Trade-offs are a central principle in both community ecology and evolutionary biology. As such, the results will have implications for understanding how and why communities are structured and may change in the future. Further, the project will address how species have evolved to persist in communities. Collectively, the studies establish a comprehensive research program that builds a mechanistic foundation to connect the behavioral, physiological, and evolutionary processes that determine how climate warming will impact the ability of species to coexist.This project is jointly funded by Population and Community Ecology, the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), and Evolutionary Processes.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.