The role of group selection in plant population dynamics: competitive ability and fitness components of kin groups

杂草的竞争对农业生态系统的生产力构成持续威胁。杂草入侵、支配和在农业土地上持续存在的能力导致人们花在杂草管理上的钱比花在其他害虫上的钱要多。了解为什么杂草会在它们存在或不存在的地方出现，对于预测它们的空间动态以及确定栖息地斑块如何影响它们的分布和丰度都至关重要。要做到这一点，我们必须对控制杂草种群动态和杂草物种分布的生态和进化过程有更深入的了解。群体选择理论认为，等位基因之所以能在群体中传播，是因为它们给生物体群体带来了好处。杂草成批生长是显而易见的；杂草在整个景观中的分布具有明显的异质性，正因为如此，群体选择可能是杂草种群中强大的进化力量。本研究计划的目的是为了更好地了解群体选择及其在杂草种群动态和最终的空间分布中可能发挥的作用。如果我们能够了解杂草种群动态的驱动力，我们将更好地预测它们的空间分布，这将最终提高我们限制它们成功的能力。这不仅对维持农作物产量和农业利润很重要，而且对减少入侵杂草对保护和恢复自然和半自然栖息地的影响也很重要。

Competition from weeds remains a constant threat to agro-ecosystem productivity. The ability of weeds to invade, dominate, and persist in agricultural lands results in more money being spent on managing weeds than any other pest. Understanding why weeds occur where they do, or do not, is critical to both predicting their spatial dynamics and to determining how habitat patchiness influences their distribution and abundance. To do this, we must develop a greater understanding of the ecological and evolutionary processes that govern weed population dynamics and thus, weed species distributions. Group selection theory contends that alleles can spread in a population because of the benefits they bestow on groups of organisms. That weeds operate in groups is obvious; weeds are distinctly heterogeneous in their distribution across the landscape and because of this, group selection may be a powerful evolutionary force in weed populations. The purpose of this research program is to work to gain a better understanding of group selection and the role it may play in weed population dynamics and ultimately, the spatial distribution of weed populations. If we can understand the driving forces in weed population dynamics, we will be better equipped to predict their spatial distribution, which will ultimately improve our ability to limit their success. This is important not just for maintaining crop yields and profits in agriculture, but also for reducing the impact of invasive weeds on the conservation and restoration of natural and semi-natural habitats.