Unifying the Two-Generation Analysis to Pollen Movement: Analysis of Insect Mediated Pollen Dispersal in The Understory Tree Cornus florida L.

基因从一代传递到下一代是维持种群遗传连通性的关键过程。对于大多数植物物种来说，花粉是最常见的基因交换方式，通常通过风或昆虫或鸟类等传播媒介传播。随着景观水平基因运动的经验数据不断积累，昆虫介导的传播与以风为主要传播机制的物种产生的基因空间分布格局明显不同。本项目的重点是昆虫介导的林下灌木，山茱萸（开花茱萸）的传播。研究人员将利用数学模型和自然种群的遗传分析来了解昆虫传粉的空间格局，并研究影响这一过程的生态因素。将对扩散模式敏感的数学模型与能够识别基因空间运动的遗传数据相结合，为这一最关键的过程提供了独特的见解。此外，将这些分析置于生态环境中可以让我们了解环境如何影响昆虫的行为，这些昆虫在景观中传播植物基因。该项目将有助于培养生物学和数学交叉领域的本科生和研究生。这项研究的一个重要成果将是一个软件包，使其他科学家能够分析和理解花粉运动的模式。这项研究的结果最终将使我们能够为自然种群设计更有效的管理和保护策略。

The movement of genes from one generation to the next is the critical process that maintains the genetic connectivity of populations. For most plant species, pollen is the most common mode of gene exchange and is typically transmitted by either wind or via a dispersal agent such as insects or birds. As empirical data on landscape-level gene movement continues to accumulate, it is becoming apparent that insect-mediated dispersal produces significantly different spatial distribution patterns of genes than species that use wind as their primary dispersal mechanism. This project is focused on insect-mediated dispersal of the understory tree, Cornus florida (flowering dogwood). The investigators will use both mathematical models and genetic analyses of natural populations to understand the spatial patterning of insect-mediated pollination and investigate the ecological factors that influence this process. Combining mathematical models that are sensitive to the mode of dispersal with genetic data that can identify the spatial movement of genes provides unique insights into this most critical process. Moreover, placing these analyses within an ecological context allows us to understand how the environment influences the behavior of insects that move plant genes across the landscape. This project will help to train undergraduate and graduate students at the interface of biology and mathematics. An important outcome of this research will be a software package to allow other scientists to analyse and understand patterns of pollen movement. The results of this research will ultimately allow us to design more effective management and conservation strategies for natural populations.