Testing the ecophylogenetic hypothesis with species and spaces along ecological gradients

沿生态梯度检验物种和空间的生态系统发育假说

• 批准号: RGPIN-2016-05520
• 负责人: Smith, MAlexander
• 金额: $ 2.33万
• 依托单位: University of Guelph
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2016-01-01 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=615744
• 关键词: Testing; ecophylogenetic; hypothesis; species; spaces

SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL Most terrestrial animals are arthropods, most of these are insects and most of these are unknown to science. In recent years we have learned that many of the unnamed insect species are physically smaller and more regionally-restricted and/or host-specific than had been imagined. Inter- and intra-specific regional specialisations such as these (in particular those that co-vary with elevation and anthropogenic disturbance) are critical to our understanding of the evolution and maintenance of that biodiversity. Biodiversity is a combination of the evolutionary history and ecological dramas that combine to select the “actors” in the ecological “theater”. However, biodiversity is more than species richness. Biodiversity is a complex product of the interaction of evolutionary and ecological processes and so phylogenies are a useful tool to help understand the assembly and maintenance of communities. In my research program, we utilise multiple arthropod taxa (Collembola, Araneae, Diptera, parasitoid Hymenoptera, Isopoda and Coleoptera), but always amongst the first to be considered are the ants (Formicidae). The work is based in the Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) where than 2.6 % of global diversity is thought to reside. Our expertise within this national park permits us to test the assumptions of ecophylogenetic hypotheses in hyperdiverse Neotropical arthropods. Arthropods are sensitive to changes in temperature and moisture and this is accentuated in the Neotropics where many species may already live close to their thermal limits, and most are not named. Scientific names provide a systematic understanding of a species and a framework to predict the functional elements of that species Thus, lacking scientific names critically impedes conducting predictive and process-oriented biodiversity science. This DG describes projects for 2 PhD and 3 MSc students. We will document the species that live in this hyperdiverse area, DNA barcode and measure the phylogenetic diversity and calculate functional diversity by including data on ecology, life history traits and morphology complement of morphological variables linked to species survival in particular abiotic conditions. Our work will create and synthesise the biodiversity data required to test the “ecophylogenetics hypothesis” which has previously been criticised for not being evaluated on a sufficient number of taxa nor situations. This work will allow us to better understand how these communities respond to hotter and drier conditions corresponding to forestry and warming cloud forests. In my lab group, we measure insect diversity to answer the question of how communities are assembled along gradients of elevation and disturbance. By incorporating both phylogenetic and functional measures of that diversity we will be better able to answer how species track changing abiotic conditions.

提案摘要 大多数陆生动物是节肢动物，其中大多数是昆虫，其中大多数是科学未知的。近年来，我们了解到许多未命名的昆虫物种比想象的更小，更受区域限制和/或宿主特异性。诸如此类的种间和种内区域专门化（特别是那些与海拔和人为干扰共同变化的区域专门化）对于我们理解生物多样性的演变和维持至关重要。生物多样性是进化史和生态剧的结合体，它们联合收割机在生态“剧场”中选择“演员”。然而，生物多样性不仅仅是物种丰富度。生物多样性是进化和生态过程相互作用的复杂产物，因此生物多样性是帮助理解群落组装和维持的有用工具。 在我的研究计划中，我们利用多种节肢动物分类群（弹尾目，蜘蛛目，双翅目，寄生虫Hyattera，等足目和鞘翅目），但总是首先考虑的是蚂蚁（蚁科）。这项工作是基于瓜纳卡斯特保护区（ACG），其中超过2.6%的全球多样性被认为居住。我们在这个国家公园内的专业知识使我们能够在高度多样的新热带区节肢动物中测试生态系统发生假说的假设。节肢动物对温度和湿度的变化很敏感，这在新热带地区尤为突出，许多物种可能已经生活在接近其温度极限的地方，大多数没有命名。科学名称提供了对物种的系统性理解和预测该物种功能要素的框架，因此，缺乏科学名称严重阻碍了进行预测和面向过程的生物多样性科学。本DG描述了2个博士和3个硕士学生的项目。我们将记录生活在这个高度多样性区域的物种，DNA条形码和测量系统发育多样性和计算功能多样性，包括生态学，生活史特征和与物种生存相关的形态变量的形态学补充数据，特别是非生物条件。我们的工作将创建和合成生物多样性数据，以测试“生态系统发生学假说”，这在以前一直被批评为没有被评估足够数量的分类群，也没有情况。这项工作将使我们能够更好地了解这些社区如何应对与林业和变暖的云雾森林相对应的炎热和干燥的条件。 在我的实验室小组中，我们测量昆虫多样性来回答群落是如何沿着海拔和干扰的沿着梯度聚集的问题。通过结合系统发育和功能的多样性措施，我们将能够更好地回答物种如何跟踪不断变化的非生物条件。