Characterizing the effects of evolution on nutrient cycling

我的研究计划的总体目标是描述进化过程的生态后果。特别是，我和我的学生描述了动物进化如何改变水生生态系统中的能量和营养物质的流动。 我们研究来自不列颠哥伦比亚省沿海的三刺刺鱼物种复合体，因为它是研究物种形成的最重要的模型之一，物种形成是一个进化过程。刺鱼的进化导致了它们防御性骨骼结构(即盔甲)的巨大多样性，这些结构可以保护它们免受捕食者的攻击。由于富含磷，骨骼含量的变异性被用来解释不同鱼类在营养储存和回收方面的差异。然而，将骨骼特征的进化与营养循环联系起来的假说还没有得到检验。刺鱼为我们提供了一个独特的机会来检验这些假说，从而更好地理解动物的特征如何影响它们在生态系统过程中的作用。 我们将描述盔甲特征如何影响刺鱼储存和循环氮和磷的能力--这两种元素限制了水生生态系统中的初级生产。通过实地调查和实验相结合的方法，我们将评估盔甲对刺鱼元素组成(元素在它们体内的浓度和比例)的影响，它们对氮和磷的饮食需求，它们对这些元素的回收能力，以及这些回收元素对初级生产的影响。我们将从海洋和淡水环境中抽取一些刺鱼种群，这些环境包含了很大的盔甲特征差异。 我的研究将极大地促进我们对进化如何影响生态系统的理解。这一理解对于一系列进化和生态过程是重要的，也是有效的保护管理所必需的。这项研究还解决了营养循环的关键机制问题，营养循环是一种调节生态系统服务的功能，对生态系统的稳定非常重要。因此，该项目的发现将使进化生物学家、生态系统科学家和保护管理者受益。

The overall goal of my research program is to characterize the ecological consequences of evolutionary processes. In particular, my students and I characterize how animal evolution alters the flows of energy and nutrients in aquatic ecosystems. We work on the three-spined stickleback species complex from coastal British Columbia because it is one of the most important models for studying speciation, an evolutionary process that generates species. Stickleback evolution has led to a tremendous diversity in their defensive bony structures (i.e. armour), which protect them from predators. Because it is highly rich in phosphorus, variability in bone content has been invoked to explain differences in nutrient storage and recycling among fish species. However, hypotheses linking the evolution of bony traits with nutrient recycling have not been tested. Sticklebacks provide us with a unique opportunity to test these hypotheses, thereby gaining a better understanding of how animal traits influence their roles in ecosystem processes. We will characterize how armour traits affect the ability of sticklebacks to store and recycle nitrogen and phosphorus - two elements that limit primary production in aquatic ecosystem. Using a combination of field surveys and experiments, we will assess the effects of armour on stickleback elemental composition (the concentrations and proportions of elements in their bodies), their dietary demands for nitrogen and phosphorus, their capacity to recycle these elements, and the effects of these recycled elements on primary production. We will sample a number of stickleback populations from marine and freshwater environments, which encompass large differences in armour traits. My research will significantly advance our understanding of how evolution affects ecosystems. This understanding is important for a range of evolutionary and ecological processes, and is also required for effective conservation management. This research also addresses key mechanistic questions about nutrient recycling, a regulating ecosystem service which is important for ecosystem stability. Findings from this program will therefore benefit evolutionary biologists, ecosystem scientists, and conservation managers.