Blow fly reproductive decisions and developmental outcomes mediated by biotic and abiotic environment drive community level dynamics

生物和非生物环境介导的苍蝇繁殖决策和发育结果驱动群落水平动态

• 批准号: RGPIN-2018-06583
• 负责人: Vanlaerhoven, Sherah
• 金额: $ 2.91万
• 依托单位: University of Windsor
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=687570
• 关键词: Blow; fly; reproductive; decisions; developmental

Understanding the complexity of interacting processes and mechanisms remains one of the critical stumbling blocks in predictive applications of animal physiology, behaviour and ecology. This becomes even more vital when the predictive application in question involves estimates of the time of death of unattended human deaths using insect evidence. Insect evidence includes all developmental stages and associated debris of insects that may be present. It also includes any insect behaviour such as insect feeding, timing of adult arrival to the body, and timing and location of egg laying on the body. This information provides evidentiary value regarding the time frame or conditions of the body prior to discovery. My research focuses on insect reproductive and foraging decisions. I examine the outcomes of those decisions on the ecology and development of offspring under different abiotic and biotic stresses within natural and managed agroecosystems. I propose to evaluate how human-derived and biological factors interact to change blow fly (Diptera: Calliphoridae) reproductive decisions and outcomes for offspring in dead animal based resource systems. Despite the direct applicability of these biological metrics to issues of human importance, there are numerous untested assumptions in the literature that tend to be generalized across the family as a whole. These include the specific location that eggs are laid, timing of egg laying, numbers of eggs laid, and lower temperature thresholds for development. Of the 36 species in North America that utilize carrion, or dead animals, basic developmental data exists for less than 1/4 of these species. Even with the few better studied species, there is still debate as to lower temperature thresholds for development and timing of egg laying. There is limited information regarding other influences such as humidity or the effect of species interactions on these life history traits. Specifically, my research will measure timing and site selection of egg laying, number of eggs laid, survival, size and development of offspring of different species of blow flies at a range of temperatures, humidities and on different types of animal tissues. These life history traits will be measured for individual blow fly species on their own, as well as in combination with other blow fly species to measure the effect of species combinations on the expression of these traits. Finally, I will measure the distribution of different types of animal tissue sources (i.e. garbage, road kill) along a gradient of human influence and measure this effect on blow fly species diversity and distribution. This research will provide vital understanding of specific blow fly species life history traits which have direct applicability as insect evidence. These data will be used to examine the complexities in process and function of how species assemble over space and time on patchy, ephemeral resources.

理解相互作用过程和机制的复杂性仍然是动物生理学、行为学和生态学预测应用的关键绊脚石之一。当所讨论的预测应用涉及使用昆虫证据估计无人值守的人类死亡时间时，这变得更加关键。昆虫证据包括可能存在的所有发育阶段和相关的昆虫碎片。它还包括任何昆虫行为，如昆虫取食、成虫到达身体的时间，以及产卵的时间和位置。这一信息提供了关于身体在被发现之前的时间范围或状况的证据价值。我的研究重点是昆虫的繁殖和觅食决策。我考察了在自然和管理的农业生态系统中，在不同的非生物和生物压力下，这些决定对后代的生态和发展的影响。我建议评估人类衍生和生物因素如何相互作用来改变苍蝇(双翅目：丽蝇科)在基于死亡动物的资源系统中的生殖决定和后代的结果。尽管这些生物指标直接适用于人类重要性的问题，但文献中有许多未经检验的假设，这些假设往往会推广到整个家庭。这些因素包括产卵的具体位置、产卵的时间、产卵的数量以及发育的较低温度门槛。在北美36种利用腐肉或死亡动物的物种中，只有不到四分之一的物种有基本的发育数据。即使对少数几个较好的物种进行了更好的研究，但关于降低发育和产卵时间的温度阈值仍存在争议。关于其他影响的信息有限，例如湿度或物种相互作用对这些生活史特征的影响。具体地说，我的研究将测量不同种类的苍蝇在不同温度、湿度和不同类型的动物组织上的产卵时间和地点选择、产卵数量、存活、大小和后代的发育。这些生活史特征将被单独测量，以及与其他飞蝇物种一起测量，以测量物种组合对这些特征表达的影响。最后，我将测量不同类型的动物组织来源(即垃圾、道路死亡)沿人类影响的梯度的分布，并测量这种影响对苍蝇物种多样性和分布的影响。这项研究将为了解特定的斑潜蝇种类生活史特征提供重要的了解，这些特征可以直接用作昆虫证据。这些数据将被用来检验物种如何在零星的、短暂的资源上在空间和时间上聚集的过程和功能的复杂性。