DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Biotic controls of the ecology and evolution of plant growth and defense

外来物种的本地和引进范围之间的物种相互作用的变化是入侵成功的重要决定因素。尽管如此，人们对捕食和竞争如何相互作用来影响增加入侵物种影响的特征进化知之甚少。植物入侵的基本预测是假设个体在用于生长和防御的能量之间进行权衡，而这种权衡的影响取决于生物环境。本研究的目的是了解重要物种相互作用的变化如何有助于入侵物种的成功，并预测可能影响入侵的某些特征何时可能进化。该项目依赖于一种快速生长的模式植物的多个品系，这些品系在竞争和捕食强度上存在差异，将表征这些品系之间生活史策略的差异，并将使用实地入侵实验来检测历史和当前生物相互作用对植物成功的影响。外来物种通过破坏本地生态系统及其提供的服务，威胁着全球生物多样性。该项目将增加对外来物种进化的认识，并弥合植物生态学与进化之间的差距。该项目包括与中国科学家的合作。其中一名研究人员在指导本科生，特别是那些来自代表性不足群体的学生方面有着丰富的经验，并计划在拟议的项目期间继续进行这些培训活动。

Changes in species interactions between native and introduced ranges of exotic species are important determinants of invasion success. Despite this, little is known about how predation and competition interact to affect the evolution of traits that increase the impacts of invasive species. Underlying predictions of plant invasiveness is the assumption that individuals tradeoff energy devoted to growth and defense, and that the effects of this tradeoff depend on the biotic environment. The goal of this research is to understand how variation in important species interactions contributes to invasive species success and to predict when certain traits that may influence invasiveness are likely to evolve. The project relies on multiple lines of a rapidly growing model plant that differ in lifetime intensity of competition and predation, will characterize differences in life history strategies among these lines, and will use a field invasion experiment to detect the effects of both historic and current biotic interactions on plant success. Exotic species threaten global biodiversity by damaging native ecosystems and the services they provide. This project will increase understanding of the evolution in exotic species and bridges the gap between plant ecology and evolution. The project includes a collaboration with Chinese scientists. One of the investigators has considerable experience mentoring undergraduate students, and particularly those from under-represented groups, and plans to continue these training activities during the proposed project.