Collaborative Research: Ecological and Evolutionary-Genetic Limits to Range Expansion

该项目的目标是了解阻止生物体生活在其当前地理分布之外的环境中的生态和遗传因素。对于这种名为clarkia xantiana的植物，研究人员将量化：(1)种群对当地环境的适应程度；(2)种群适应新环境的潜力；(3)个体从内部迁移到范围边缘，这可能会阻碍适应；以及(4)范围边缘种群灭绝的风险。目前范围内和之外的环境条件也将被量化。数据将从野外种群的实验研究、实验室的分子遗传学研究和地理信息系统建模中获得。总而言之，这些数据将使研究人员能够评估理论模型的预测。这项研究的结果将帮助我们理解为什么动植物物种出现在它们发生的地方，而不是其他地方，以及是什么设定了给定地区的生物多样性限制。这些问题的答案对于理解人为变化对物种长期成功的影响是重要的。来自一所四年制学院和两所大学的本科生将参加这项研究。研究人员还将参与南加州生物多样性的公共教育，这项研究将在那里进行。

The goal of the project is to understand the ecological and genetic factors that prevent an organism from living in environments that are outside its current geographic distribution. For the plant, Clarkia xantiana, the researchers will quantify: (1) the degree to which populations are adapted to their local environment; (2) the potential for populations to adapt to novel environments; (3) migration of individuals from the interior to the edge of the range, which may impede adaptation; and (4) the risk of extinction of populations at the range edge. Environmental conditions in and outside the current range will also be quantified. The data will be obtained from experimental studies of populations in the field, molecular genetic studies in the lab, and GIS modeling. Together, these data will allow the researchers to evaluate predictions from theoretical models.The results from this research will help us understand why animal and plant species occur where they do and not elsewhere and what sets the limits biodiversity in a given area. Answers to these questions are important for understanding the effects of anthropogenic change on the long-term success of species. Undergraduate students from a 4-year college and two universities will participate in the study. The researchers will also be involved in public education on biodiversity in southern California where the study will be conducted.