CAREER: Colonization, dispersal, and foraging ecology of native bees in human-altered landscapes

鉴于管理和本地传粉媒介的广泛减少以及全球对依赖传粉媒介的作物的日益依赖，迫切需要发展对传粉媒介种群动态的机制理解。本研究利用种群遗传学、觅食生态学和地理空间工具，建立了第一个空间和时间上明确的本地传粉媒介种群模型。这是一种基础研究，将增加我们对传粉媒介提供的生态系统服务的理解。具体而言，本项目的研究目标是：1)测量土地利用对4种关键传粉媒介筑巢动态和有效种群规模的影响；2)计算生殖传粉媒介的精确传播距离和由此产生的基因流；3)计算传粉媒介物种在不同时间和资源分布下的最大和平均觅食范围；4)建立时空明确的传粉媒介种群模型。在拟议的研究中将使用多种工具，包括基于遗传和基于花粉的觅食重建，从而对传粉媒介的资源利用和运动动态进行首次方法学上的比较估计。拟议的研究提供了一个独特的机会，在德克萨斯州中部快速城市化和农业依赖地区的中心建立一个高度相关的公共宣传和教育项目。该计划将通过研究和教学活动的协同整合来实施，包括加强本科生在实验室和实地的参与，与K-12教师的合作，以及开发景观遗传学的研究生课程。拟议的外展工作旨在发展大学和社区成员之间的长期联系，包括传粉者生物学公共系列研讨会和公民科学传粉者监测讲习班。该奖项的首席研究员在公民科学方面有经验，并将利用监测研讨会作为一个机会，在当地城市和农业社区中建立科学素养，这些社区在STEM领域通常代表性不足。本研究的更广泛的恢复导向应用是开发机械信息的土地管理策略，以改善传粉媒介的保护及其作为生态系统服务提供者的关键作用。

Given widespread declines in managed and native pollinators and increasing global reliance on pollinator-dependent crops, there is an acute need to develop a mechanistic understanding of pollinator population dynamics. The proposed research utilizes population genetics, foraging ecology, and geospatial tools to develop the first spatially and temporally explicit population model for native pollinators. This is the type of fundamental research that will increase our understanding of ecosystem services provided by pollinators. Specifically, the research objectives of this project are: 1) measurement of land-use impacts on the nesting dynamics and effective population sizes of four critical pollinator species, 2) calculation of exact dispersal distances made by reproductive pollinators and resulting gene flow, 3) computation of maximum and average foraging range of pollinator species across time periods and resource distributions, and 4) creation of a spatially and temporally explicit pollinator population model. A diverse suite of tools will be utilized in the proposed research, including genetic-based and pollen-based foraging reconstruction, yielding one of the first methodologically comparative estimates of resource use and movement dynamics for pollinators.The proposed research provides a unique opportunity to build a highly relevant public outreach and education program in the heart of a rapidly urbanizing and agriculturally-dependent region in central Texas. The program will be carried out through a synergistic integration of research and teaching activities, including enhanced undergraduate involvement in the lab and field, collaboration with K-12 teachers, and development of a graduate-level course in landscape genetics. The proposed outreach efforts are oriented towards developing long-term connections between the university and community members, and include a Pollinator Biology public seminar series and a Citizen Science Pollinator Monitoring Workshop. The Principal Investigator of this award has experience in Citizen Science and will use the Monitoring Workshop as an opportunity to build science literacy within local urban and agricultural communities that are typically underrepresented in the STEM fields. The broader restoration-orientation application of this research is the development of mechanistically-informed land management strategies for improved conservation of pollinators and their critical role as ecosystem service providers.