Collaborative Research: Context-Dependency in the Exploitation of Pollination Mutualisms

为什么物种之间的合作如此普遍，以及它如何在作弊面前坚持下去，这是生物学中的一大谜团。这个项目将探索生态条件如何导致一个物种在受益和寄生另一个物种之间切换，使用最重要的合作案例之一--动物为植物授粉。当动物传粉者在不转移花粉的情况下从花朵中窃取花蜜时，这种关键类型的物种之间的互惠关系可能会转变为寄生关系。该项目将结合实地观察、操纵实验和落基山脉两种蜜蜂在授粉和欺骗之间切换的模型，以确定(1)蜜蜂何时以及为什么欺骗它们访问的植物；(2)在不同的情况下，欺骗或合作对蜜蜂更有利；以及(3)掠夺花蜜如何影响蜜蜂访问的植物的繁殖。该项目的更广泛影响包括学生培训、与公众的接触以及对主要生态系统服务的更好了解。该项目将培养本科生、研究生和博士后研究员。计划通过博物馆、初中和高中以及科学夏令营向公众宣传。结果将增加对授粉的了解，授粉是农业和生物多样性保护的关键服务：识别授粉者避免作弊的条件可以帮助提高作物产量和维护本土植物物种。

Why cooperation between species is so common and how it can persist in the face of cheating is one of the great enigmas in biology. This project will explore how ecological conditions can cause a species to switch between benefiting and parasitizing another species, using one of the most important cases of cooperation, the pollination of plants by animals. This key type of mutually beneficial relationship between species can switch to a parasitic relationship when animal pollinators steal nectar from flowers without transferring pollen. The project will combine field observations, manipulative experiments, and a model of two bee species that switch between pollinating and cheating in the Rocky Mountains to determine (1) when and why bees cheat the plants they visit; (2) whether cheating or cooperation benefits the bees more under different circumstances; and (3) how nectar robbing affects the reproduction of the plants that the bees visit. The broader impacts of this project include student training, outreach to the general public, and greater understanding of a major ecosystem service. The project will train undergraduate students, a graduate student, and a postdoctoral researcher. Public outreach is planned through museums, middle and high schools, and summer science camps. Results will increase understanding of pollination, a critical service for agriculture and conservation of biodiversity: identifying the conditions under which pollinators refrain from cheating could help increase crop yields and maintain native plant species.