Eco-evolutionary dynamics

传统上，进化被认为是一种非常缓慢的变革力量。然而，最近的研究表明，在环境急剧变化的情况下，进化可以非常迅速地进行。这种快速(或“当代”)演变应对生态模式和过程产生重要影响，包括种群动态(例如，生物体丰富度)、群落结构(例如，生物多样性)和生态系统功能(包括生态系统服务，如清洁水、自然资源和农业生产)。这些“生态进化动力学”已经在许多研究中得到证实，但几乎所有这些研究都是在不切实际的实验室环境中进行的。我的研究试图通过了解生态进化动力学如何在现实世界中发挥作用来填补这一关键信息缺口。这项研究涉及几个模型系统，包括这里描述的两个特别适合于自然界中重复实验操作的模型系统。在加拉帕戈斯，我的研究重点是植物如何塑造雀喙的进化，以及这种进化如何反馈到影响植物群落。将解决两个关键问题。(1)进化的雀喙特征(大小和形状)如何影响种子和植物群落？(2)特定植物物种如何进化以响应雀类的捕食？这些问题将通过影响雀类消耗的特定种子类型的实验操作(封育、种子清除、捕食实验)来解决。在北美，同样的问题也有两个方面。(1)刺鱼觅食特征的差异如何影响湖泊中的浮游生物群落，从而影响整个湖泊生态系统？(2)特定浮游生物物种如何进化，以响应不同刺鱼类型的觅食，同样对群落和湖泊生态系统产生潜在影响。这些问题将通过将不同类型的刺鱼引入不同的湖泊来解决，管理机构已经从不同的湖泊中清除了所有鱼类(作为其努力清除入侵鱼类的副作用)。拟议的研究将培训至少6名新博士生和30多名本科生，掌握现场方法(如收集、观察、实验)、养鱼(如动物护理和行为)、实验设计(如复制、控制、功率)、样品处理(如形态计量学、光谱放射测量学、稳定同位素)、高级统计学和出版。总体而言，这项工作将提供关于保护和管理做法应在多大程度上考虑进化过程的关键信息。也许，大体上来说，进化可以被安全地忽略；或者，也许进化应该被视为每一次此类努力中不可或缺的一部分；或者，也许进化在某些情况下是至关重要的，但在另一些情况下却不是。

Evolution was classically considered to be a very slow force for change. Recent research, however, has revealed that evolution can proceed very rapidly in cases of dramatic environmental change. This rapid (or “contemporary”) evolution should have important consequences for ecological patterns and processes, including population dynamics (e.g., abundances of organisms), community structure (e.g., biodiversity), and ecosystem function (including ecosystem services, such as clean water, natural resources, and agricultural production). These “eco-evolutionary dynamics” have been demonstrated in many studies but nearly all of those studies were conducted in unrealistic laboratory settings. My research seeks to fill this critical information gap by understanding how eco-evolutionary dynamics play out in the real world. This research involves several model systems, including two described here that are particularly well suited for replicated experimental manipulations in nature. In Galpagos, my research focuses on how plants shape the evolution of finch beaks, and how that evolution feeds back to influence plant communities. Two key questions will be addressed. (1) How do evolving finch beak traits (size and shape) influence seed and plant communities? (2) How are specific plant species evolving in response to finch predation? These questions will be addressed through experimental manipulations (exclosures, seed removals, predation experiments) that influence the specific seed types consumed by finches. In North America, the equivalent questions are also two-fold. (1) How do differences in the foraging traits of stickleback fishes influence plankton communities in lakes and, perhaps thereby, whole lake ecosystems? (2) How do specific plankton species evolve in response to foraging by different stickleback types, again with potential consequences for communities and lake ecosystems. These questions will be addressed by introducing stickleback of different types into different lakes from which management agencies have removed all fishes (as a side effect of their efforts to remove invasive fishes). The proposed research will train at least six new PhD students, and more than 30 undergraduate students, in field methods (e.g., collection, observation, experiments), fish rearing (e.g., animal care and behaviour), experimental design (e.g., replication, controls, power), sample processing (e.g., morphometrics, spectroradiometry, stable isotopes), advanced statistics, and publication. Overall, the work will provide key information on the extent to which conservation and management practices should consider evolutionary processes. Perhaps, to a first approximation, evolution can be safely ignored; or, perhaps, evolution should be considered as an integral part of every such endeavor; or, perhaps, evolution is critically important in some cases but not others.