Evolution in stage structured populations

生命周期阶段是生物体普遍存在的特征。从绿藻的细胞分裂阶段，到飞蛾的卵、幼虫、蛹和有翅成虫的阶段，这些阶段代表了生物体生命中功能上不同的生物学点，具有不同的资源需求和不同的生活史特征（即出生、死亡和发育速率）。正如我们开始理解的那样，种群中的这种“阶段结构”可能会对与管理、保护和了解这些种群对环境变化的长期反应相关的生物动态产生影响。我的研究旨在建立从有机体生命史到生态和进化动力学的预测联系。我使用理论和实验生物学的跨学科方法，其中涉及开发在个体规模和群体规模上进行实验测试的数学模型。在这笔赠款中，我们将加深对阶段结构种群进化的理解。特别是，我们将研究种群动态如何影响生命史进化，进而研究进化对生态动态的影响。我们的实验将使用两个具有阶段结构生命史的生物系统，但其进化过程有所不同：i）病原体-淡水浮游动物-藻类系统和ii）陆生甲虫-豆类资源系统。 HQP 将接受数学生物学和实验生物学交叉领域的培训，这将为他们提供医学、研究（政府和学术）、政策和环境咨询等职业所需的技能。结构化系统在自然界中很常见。其中一些系统在经济和社会重要领域非常重要，例如红鲑鱼的动态、山松甲虫的侵扰、云杉芽虫的爆发、鳕鱼种群的管理。我们研究的贡献将是开发一个理解结构化系统进化的理论框架，该框架可能适用于一系列生物系统，并且已经过实验测试。

Life cycle stages are a ubiquitous feature of organisms. From stages of cell division in green algae, to the stages of egg, larvae, pupae and winged adults in moths, these stages represent functionally different biological points in an organism's life with different resource needs and different life history traits (i.e., birth, death and development rates). As we are beginning to understand, such 'stage-structure' in a population can have an impact on biological dynamics that is relevant to management, conservation and understanding the long-term response of these populations to environmental change. My research aims to develop a predictive link from organism life histories to ecological & evolutionary dynamics. I use an interdisciplinary approach of theoretical and experimental biology, which involves developing mathematical models that are experimentally tested at both the individual-scale and population-scale. In this grant, we will advance our understanding of evolution in stage-structured populations. In particular, we will study how population dynamics influence life history evolution and-in turn-the impact evolution has on ecological dynamics. Our experiments will use two biological systems with stage-structured life histories, but that differ in their evolutionary processes: i) a pathogen-freshwater zooplankton-algae system and ii) a terrestrial beetle-bean resource system. HQP will receive training at the interface of mathematical biology and experimental biology, which gives them skills that are in demand for careers in medicine, research (government and academic), policy and environmental consulting. Structured systems are common in nature. Some of the systems are important in economically and socially important areas, such as the dynamics of sockeye salmon, infestations of mountain pine beetles, outbreaks of spruce budworm, management of cod stocks. The contribution of our research will be the development of a theoretical framework for understanding evolution in structured systems that is likely applicable to a range of biological systems, and which has been tested experimentally.