MPS-BIO: Developing a multivariate theory of phenotypic coevolution

我们对物种相互适应过程的理解很大程度上是基于物种之间的相互作用仅依赖于单一特征的假设。然而，真正的相互作用，包括那些对人类健康和农业有影响的相互作用，不可避免地涉及多种特征。多重特征没有被纳入现有理论的主要原因是开发和分析适当的数学模型非常困难。提出的工作将通过开发强大的新数学工具来克服现有的障碍，这些工具允许制定多元共同进化的一般理论。这些工具将通过在年度会议上的介绍和出版电子Mathematica附录的方式广泛提供给科学界。除了显著提高我们对物种如何相互适应的理解外，拟议的工作将促进生物学和数学界面的本科生和研究生培训。一组被招募到爱达荷大学生物和数学科学本科生项目的学生将通过这个项目的工作接受基本的计算和数学方法的培训。研究生培训将通过让学生沉浸在拟议的研究中来完成，从而在生物问题的高级数学和计算方法方面进行强化训练。

Our understanding of the processes through which species adapt to one another is largely predicated upon the assumption that interactions between species depend on only single traits. However, real interactions, including those with implications for human health and agriculture, inevitably involve multiple traits. The primary reason multiple traits have not been integrated into existing theory is the sheer difficulty of developing and analyzing appropriate mathematical models. The proposed work will overcome existing hurdles by developing powerful new mathematical tools that allow a general theory of multivariate coevolution to be formulated. These tools will be made widely available to the scientific community through presentations at annual meetings and publication of electronic Mathematica appendices.In addition to significantly advancing our understanding of how species adapt to one another, the proposed work will promote undergraduate and graduate training at the interface of biology and mathematics. A team of students recruited into the University of Idaho's Undergraduates in Biological and Mathematical Sciences program will be trained in basic computational and mathematical approaches through work on this project. Graduate training will be accomplished by immersing a student into the proposed research, resulting in intensive training in advanced mathematical and computational approaches to biological problems.