CAREER: Milkweed-Herbivore Interactions: Advancing Community Ecology and Student Community Outreach

在这个项目中，研究人员将研究促进昆虫物种共存的机制，这些昆虫物种以植物物种为食物来源。识别和理解允许物种共存的因素是生态学理论的核心。这项研究将集中在以乳草为食的昆虫物种上，乳草是一种多样化和有魅力的植物群。研究者将验证一个长期存在的假设，即每种昆虫在不同（但不是全部）的条件下茁壮成长，这种“权衡”可以防止任何一种昆虫排斥所有其他物种。这一假设将在纽约州的自然种群中进行实验验证。马利筋植物在六种防御和营养性状（化学毒素、乳胶、氮水平等）上表现出高度的遗传变异。这些特征会对食草动物产生负面影响，并且在最初受到昆虫攻击后通常会被强烈修改（或“诱导”）。因此，昆虫群落的资源基础是高度动态的。研究人员将测试昆虫在不同植物表型（由遗传变异或诱导防御产生）上的表现的权衡是否允许植物种群的变化来维持昆虫的多样性。该研究还将验证对植物防御不那么脆弱的昆虫物种对捕食的敏感性较高或在新植物斑块上定居的能力较低的预测。使用新的领域操作，这些因素也将作为促进多样性的机制进行测试。昆虫-马利筋系统非常适合开发K-12教育的实验室和教学工具，研究者将参与各种旨在将科学带入K-12教室和开发教师培训工具的活动。

In this project, the researchers will investigate mechanisms that promote the coexistence of insect species that share plant species as their food source. Identifying and understanding the factors that allow for the coexistence of species is central to ecological theory. This research will focus on insect species that rely on milkweeds, a diverse and charismatic group of plants. The investigator will test the long-standing hypothesis that each insect species thrives under different (but not all) conditions and that such "trade-offs" prevent any one species from excluding all others. This hypothesis will be experimentally tested in natural populations in New York State. Milkweed plants exhibit high levels of genetic variation for six defensive and nutritional traits (chemical toxins, latex, nitrogen levels, etc). These traits can negatively affect herbivore species and are often strongly modified (or "induced") following initial attack by insects. Thus, the resource base for insect communities is highly dynamic. The investigators will test whether trade-offs in the performance of insects on different plant phenotypes (generated by genetic variation or induced defenses) allow variation in plant populations to maintain insect diversity. This research will also test the prediction that insect species that are less vulnerable to plant defenses will have a high susceptibility to predation or have a low ability to colonize new plant patches. Using novel field manipulations, these factors will also be tested as mechanisms promoting diversity. The insect-milkweed system is highly suitable for the development of laboratory and teaching tools for K-12 education, and the investigator will be involved in a variety of activities designed to bring science to K-12 classrooms and to develop teacher training tools.