Comparing the ecological consequences of genetic variation versus the environment for communities and ecosystems

我研究的长期目标是了解生物多样性模式的管理因素，并探索生物多样性对生态系统功能的重要性。几十年来，研究人员一直关注生态系统中物种的丧失，但最近，生态学家意识到生物多样性的丧失既是种内问题，也是种间问题。也就是说，虽然物种的丧失可能对生态系统有害，但这些物种内的种群和遗传变异的丧失也可能对生态系统有害。 我提出的研究计划桥梁的一个重要差距，我们的理解种内变异的生态重要性，将遗传和环境的影响，对个人的功能性状表达。这里提出的实验将解决植物遗传变异的社区和生态系统的后果是否在不同的非生物和生物条件下保持一致，以及比较植物物种内和之间的性状变异。具体来说，我有四个主要目标： (1)量化植物物种内功能性状的遗传变异量。 (2)为了确定遗传变异对功能性状的影响是否会在不同的条件下发生变化， 非生物和生物条件。 (3)将基因型与环境的相互作用对功能性状的影响与高等营养 水平（节肢动物群落）和生态系统过程（初级生产力和养分循环）。 (4)比较植物基因型和物种间功能性状的变异。

The long-term goals of my research are to understand the factors that govern patterns of biodiversity and to explore the importance of biodiversity for how ecosystems function. For decades, researchers have focused on the loss of species from ecosystems, but, more recently, ecologists are realizing that loss of biodiversity is as much an intraspecific problem as an interspecific problem. That is, although the loss of species can be detrimental to ecosystems, so can the loss of populations and genetic variation within those species. My proposed research program bridges an important gap in our understanding of the ecological importance of intraspecific variation by incorporating both genetic and environmental influences on the functional trait expression of individuals. The experiments proposed here will address whether the community and ecosystem consequences of plant genetic variation remain consistent under different abiotic and biotic conditions, as well as compare trait variation within and among plant species. Specifically, I have four primary goals: (1) To quantify the amount of genetic variation within a plant species in functional traits. (2) To determine whether the effects of genetic variation on functional traits will vary under different abiotic and biotic conditions. (3) To link the effects of genotype-by-environment interactions on functional traits to higher trophic levels (arthropod communities) and ecosystem processes (primary productivity and nutrient cycling). (4) To compare functional trait variation among plant genotypes and species.