Dissertation Research: The Ecological Genetics of Plant Tolerance in Relation to Mammalian Herbivory in Ipomopsis Aggregata (Polemoniaceae)

9623528 Bergelson放牧对环境的影响可能是巨大的，影响生态系统的生物和非生物成分。许多研究记录了生物多样性的丧失，植物种群规模的减少，外来杂草的入侵，以及由于牲畜在公共土地上放牧而导致的水质退化。这些影响大多是由于草食对本地植物的直接影响。由该奖项资助的研究涉及调节放牧对本地植物影响的生态和遗传因素。特别是，实验将探讨植物对草食抗性的环境和遗传控制。植物抗性将从两个方面进行分析：防御，减少攻击频率和耐受性，允许再生和补偿失去的组织（耐受性）。本研究将利用实验方法来研究影响放牧对植物影响的生态因素，并结合现代数量遗传学方法来机械地研究植物如何应对和阻止放牧。研究结果应该有助于我们了解如何改变放牧制度以减少其破坏性影响。研究结果将直接影响我们对原生植物的影响的理解，并可能为农业系统中有害生物管理的新方法提供见解。

9623528 Bergelson The environmental impact of grazing can be dramatic, influencing both biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems. Many studies have documented loss of biodiversity, decreases in plant population size, invasion of exotic weeds, and degraded water quality due to livestock grazing on public lands. Most of these impacts are due to the direct effect of herbivory on native plants. The research funded by this award addresses the ecological and genetic factors regulating the impact of grazing on native plants. In particular, experiments will address the environmental and genetic controls on plant resistance to herbivory. Plant resistance will be analyzed in its two component aspects: defense, decreasing the frequency of attack and tolerance, allowing regrowth and compensation for lost tissue (tolerance). This research will utilize experimentally manipulations to investigate ecological factors which influence the impact of grazing on plants along with modern quantitative genetics approaches to mechanistically investigate how plants cope with and deter browsing. Findings should contribute to our knowledge of how grazing regimes might be altered to reduce their damaging effects. The results will have direct implications for our understanding of the effects of browsing on native plants and may provide insight into novel approaches for pest management in agricultural systems.