Collaborative research: A molecular approach to larval ecology: development and application to a coastal upwelling system

从历史上看，生态学研究的目标一直是了解控制人口密度和群落结构的过程。然而，同样重要的生态学问题是：为什么种群内的生物看起来不同，这些差异对种群和群落的影响是什么？令人惊讶的是，鉴于表型可塑性在自然群落中如此普遍，只有少数生态学家开始解决这两个问题。目前，我们对表型可塑性的理解来自于关注有机体如何对环境条件做出反应的研究。因此，当有不止一种环境条件可以引起变化时，我们无法理解生物体在自然界中将如何反应。此外，我们对有机体的可塑性如何影响其群落中的其他成员也缺乏了解。我们必须了解这些问题，才能充分了解表型可塑性的生态学和进化。本研究计划将阐明表型可塑性在多个捕食者可能诱导被捕食者防御的群落中的重要性。O猎物形态如何随着多种类型捕食者的存在而变化？o对多种类型捕食者的反应受能量限制或性能控制？o可塑性在阻止多种类型捕食者方面有多有效？这些问题将通过使用经过充分研究的群落的基础物种来量化对多种类型捕食者的形态防御和生存的诱导。将在实验室进行四个密集的多因素实验。第一个实验旨在揭示三种常见类型的捕食者在两种同种贻贝中是否会诱导三种不同类型的形态防御。第二个实验将详细量化贻贝对隔离的不同类型捕食者的发育反应标准，并将形态反应的幅度和速度与能量成本进行比较。第三个实验将量化对一种捕食者的形态反应如何受到另一种捕食者的存在的影响。第四个实验将确定可塑性在同时阻止两种捕食者方面的有效性。这项研究是一个令人兴奋和快速发展的研究领域的下一个合乎逻辑的步骤，它将为更好地理解自然群落中可塑性的生态后果打开大门。在更广泛的影响方面，这项研究将支持一名博士后助理、一名研究生和一名本科生，并将为来自当地高中、两所本科院校和加州大学戴维斯分校的不同背景的学生创造新的研究机会。博士后和研究生将帮助指导本科生，在课堂上培训学生，在科学会议和大众受众中展示成果，并在科学期刊和流行期刊上发表成果。

Historically, the goal of ecological studies has been to understand the processes that control population density and community structure. However, equally important ecological questions are: why do organisms within a population look different, and what are the population and community consequences of these differences? Surprisingly, only a few ecologists have begun to address both of these questions given that phenotypic plasticity is so prevalent in natural communities. Currently, our understanding of phenotypic plasticity comes from studies that focus on how an organism responds to an environmental condition. As a result, we do not understand how an organism will respond in nature when there is more than one environmental condition that can induce changes. Furthermore, we have a poor understanding of how plasticity in an organism affects other members of its community. We must understand these questions to fully understand the ecology and evolution of phenotypic plasticity.This research program will elucidate the importance of phenotypic plasticity in the context of a community in which multiple predators may induce defenses of prey. o How does prey morphology change in response to the presence of multiple types of predators?o Is the response to multiple types of predators governed by energy limitation or performance?o How effective is plasticity at deterring multiple types of predators?These questions will be addressed by using a foundation species of well-studied communities to quantify the induction of morphological defenses and survivorship in response to the presence of multiple types of predators. Four intensive multi-factorial experiments will be conducted in the laboratory. The first experiment is designed to reveal whether three common types of predators with widely divergent feeding modes induce three different types of morphological defenses in two conspecific mussels. The second experiment will quantify in detail the developmental reaction norms of mussels to different types of predators in isolation and compare the magnitude and rate of the morphological response with the energetic costs. The third experiment will quantify how morphological responses to one type of predator are affected by the presence of another type of predator. The fourth experiment will determine the effectiveness of plasticity in deterring two types of predators at once. The research is the next logical step in an exciting and rapidly developing field of study, and it will open the doors to a much better understanding of the ecological ramifications of plasticity in natural communities. On broader impacts, this research will support one postdoctoral associate, one graduate student and one undergraduate student, and will create new research opportunities for students of diverse backgrounds from local high schools, two undergraduate institutions and the University of California, Davis. The postdoc and graduate student will help in mentoring undergraduate students, training students in the classroom, presenting results at scientific meetings and to popular audiences, and publishing results in scientific journals and popular periodicals.