Phenology of tropical tree species – environmental cues, molecular mechanisms, and consequences for plant-animal interactions

热带树种的物候学——环境线索、分子机制以及动植物相互作用的后果

• 批准号: 432594304
• 负责人: Professorin Dr. Katrin Heer
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL)
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Independent Junior Research Groups
• 资助国家: 德国
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/432594304?language=en
• 关键词: Phenology; tropical; tree; species; environmental

Phenology including flowering, fruiting, bud burst, and leaf senescence is vital for the fitness of trees in their local habitats. Temperate tree species use cues such as temperature or day length to time these phenological transitions. For temperate regions, there is already a good base of knowledge on the environmental cues, the molecular basis and the consequence of phenological transitions for structuring plant-animal interactions, while, in contrast, such knowledge for tropical trees is still scarce. Many tropical tree populations exhibit regular and synchronized phenological transitions but there is uncertainty about the environmental cues used by them to regulate phenological transitions. Furthermore, we know virtually nothing about the underlying regulation of genes, or about the effects of phenological transitions on tree physiology and plant-animal interactions in the tropics. Investigating tropical tree phenology thus requires an integrative approach that takes into account the monitoring of tree phenology, molecular methods to study gene expression, and ecological approaches to study plant-animal interactions.This study will be carried out in the montane humid forests and the seasonally dry tropical forest of Southern Ecuador, at the research stations Estacíon Científica San Francísco and Estacíon Científica Laipuna. Here, available data from previous and ongoing projects and a continuous measurement of important parameters such as climate and carbon flux provide an ideal basis for realizing a study on tree phenology. During this project we will simultaneously monitor phenological transitions, changes of gene expression, stem diameter variation, optical properties of canopies in four tree species and link this to carbon fluxes and climatic parameters. Thereby, this project will provide insights on how phenological transitions are triggered, which gene regulatory networks are involved in phenological transitions, and how these influence plant growth and carbon sequestration. Further, I will study the interdependencies of trees and their mutualistic and antagonistic partners in the light of phenological transitions. First, I will investigate pollinator assemblages, pollen-mediated gene flow, seed set, and germination rates. Second, I will investigate associated herbivore assemblages and rates of herbivory over time. Overall, this project will make important contributions to future predictions of the impact of climate change on montane rainforests.

包括开花、结果、萌芽和叶片衰老在内的物候对树木在当地栖息地的适应性至关重要。温带树种利用温度或白昼长度等线索来确定这些物候转变的时间。对于温带地区，已经有一个良好的知识基础上的环境线索，分子基础和结构植物-动物相互作用的物候转变的后果，而相比之下，这种知识的热带树木仍然是稀缺的。许多热带树木种群表现出定期和同步的物候过渡，但有不确定性的环境线索，他们用来调节物候过渡。此外，我们对基因的潜在调控几乎一无所知，也不知道热带地区树木生理和动植物相互作用的物候转变的影响。因此，研究热带树木的物候需要一种综合的方法，包括监测树木的物候、研究基因表达的分子方法和研究植物-动物相互作用的生态方法。这项研究将在厄瓜多尔南部的山地潮湿森林和季节性干燥的热带森林中进行，在Estacíon Científica San Francísco和Estacíon Científica Laipuna研究站进行。在这里，来自以前和正在进行的项目的可用数据以及对气候和碳通量等重要参数的连续测量为实现树木物候学研究提供了理想的基础。在这个项目中，我们将同时监测四个树种的物候转变，基因表达的变化，茎直径的变化，冠层的光学特性，并将其与碳通量和气候参数联系起来。因此，该项目将提供有关物候转变如何触发，哪些基因调控网络参与物候转变以及这些如何影响植物生长和碳封存的见解。此外，我将研究树木的相互依存关系和他们的互利和拮抗的合作伙伴在光的物候过渡。首先，我将调查传粉者组合，花粉介导的基因流，种子集，发芽率。其次，我将调查相关的草食动物组合和草食率随着时间的推移。总的来说，该项目将为今后预测气候变化对山地雨林的影响作出重要贡献。