Physiology and Life History in a Tropical Plant

0219762 McLetchie一个物种内个体之间的生活史特征（生长和繁殖率）的差异可以用权衡的存在来解释，这种权衡阻止了自然选择优化所有个体的所有特征。 一种经常导致产生权衡的现象是资源限制，其中资源可以被分配用于改善一种性状，例如生长率，或另一种性状，例如繁殖率，但不能同时改善两者。 在植物中，一个主要的限制资源可以是固定碳，它是由光合作用产生的。 光合作用的变化可以导致固定碳收支的差异，从而导致个体之间生活史特征的变化。 本项目的目标是确定光合作用水平和性状变异之间的关系。 该研究涉及在受控和自然环境中测量单个植物的光合作用和生活史。一般来说，将不同的领域/方法联系起来往往会产生协同效应，促进重大的科学进步。拟议的项目将培训首席研究员测量光合作用，并在生活史权衡的背景下解释光合作用水平。 在植物中，关于光合作用与生活史之间关系的报道很少，了解这种关系将有助于了解植物如何对环境做出反应。 该项目还允许本科生参与，从而丰富了PI实验室当前和未来学生参与者的教育经验。

0219762McLetchieDifferences in life history traits (growth and reproductive rates) among individuals within a species can be explained by the existence of tradeoffs that prevent natural selection from optimizing all traits in all individuals. One phenomenon often responsible for generating tradeoffs is resource limitation where resources can be allocated to improve one trait, e.g. growth rate, or another trait, e.g. reproductive rate, but not both. In plants, one major limiting resource can be fixed carbon, which is produced by photosynthesis. Variation in photosynthesis can result in differences in the fixed carbon budget, leading to variation in life history traits among individuals. The goal of this project is to determine the relationship between photosynthetic levels and trait variation among individual plants. The study involves measuring photosynthesis and life histories of individual plants in controlled and natural environments.In general, linking different fields/approaches often results in synergisms facilitating significant scientific advances. The proposed project will train the principal investigator to measure photosynthesis and interpret photosynthetic levels within the context of life history tradeoffs. In plants, there are few reports on the relationship between photosynthesis and life history, and understanding this relationship will provide insight into how plants respond to the environment. The project also allows for undergraduate student participation, thus enriching the educational experience of current and future student participants in the PI's laboratory.