COEXISTENCE IN STREAM METACOMMUNITIES

本研究探讨了生态和进化过程如何相互作用以维持自然群落的物种多样性。经典的生态学理论预测，移民可以使资源竞争能力差的物种在自然群落中持续存在，从而维持区域生物多样性。然而，地形、湿度、森林覆盖和其他景观条件导致当地社区移民率的变化。这些景观条件也应该通过产生基因流动的变异来影响物种在当地的适应。因此，物种内部适应和迁移的差异可能与物种之间的差异一样重要，以了解生物多样性的模式。该项目的目的是了解物种之间的局部适应和竞争相互作用是如何受到物种内迁移和基因流动变化的影响的。本研究将验证物种共存和复杂景观中生物多样性格局是基因流动和移民人口效应相互作用的产物这一假设。本项目将以两种河流蝾螈为研究对象，前人对这两种物种的生态相互作用进行了大量的研究，但对迁徙和基因流动对物种共存的影响知之甚少。尽管在竞争能力上存在很大差异，但这两个研究物种在整个阿巴拉契亚山脉同时出现，并且先前的研究已经记录了景观对这两个物种的迁移和基因流动的影响。该项目将创建OPEnBio：环境生物学的机会和前景，这是一个专业的职业探索计划，利用新英格兰和北落基山脉环境生物学人员和机构的多样性。将在这两个地区提供实习机会，以吸引美国印第安本科生，他们将了解不同的榜样，并参与各种研究、应用和推广方法。通过相关课程和与其他多样性项目的联系，OPEnBio将增加代表性不足的学生的保留率，向他们展示科学的多样化视角，并扩大传统生态知识在环境生物学中的应用。

This research explores how ecological and evolutionary processes interact to maintain species diversity in natural communities. Classic ecological theory predicts that immigration can allow species that are poor competitors for resources to persist in natural communities, thereby maintaining regional biodiversity. However, topography, moisture, forest cover, and other landscape conditions cause variation in rates of immigration among local communities. These landscape conditions should also influence local adaptation of species by creating variation in gene flow. Therefore, differences in adaptation and immigration within species may be as important for understanding patterns of biodiversity as differences among species. The goal of this project is to understand how local adaptation and competitive interactions among species are affected by variation in immigration and gene flow within species. This research will test the hypothesis that species coexistence and the resulting pattern of biodiversity in complex landscapes are products of the interactive, adaptive effects of gene flow and the demographic effects of immigration. This project will focus on two species of stream salamander for which there is much prior research on their ecological interactions, but little is known about the effects of immigration and gene flow on species coexistence. The two study species occur together throughout the Appalachian Mountains despite a large difference in competitive ability, and previous studies have documented landscape effects on immigration and gene flow in both species. This project will create OPEnBio: Opportunities and Perspectives in Environmental Biology, a professional career exploration program that capitalizes on the diversity of people and institutions in environmental biology in New England and the Northern Rockies. Internships will be offered in both regions to attract American Indian undergraduates, who will get to know diverse role models and engage in a variety of approaches to research, application, and outreach. Through related coursework and links to other diversity programs, OPEnBio will increase retention of underrepresented students, show them diverse perspectives in science, and expand the use of traditional ecological knowledge in environmental biology.