EAGER: Integrating host-associated microbes into trait-based community ecology frameworks

了解动物群落如何对环境变化作出反应，对于了解生物多样性的模式很重要。识别允许一个物种占据特定环境的特征也使我们能够预测该物种是否能够在面临环境扰动的情况下坚持下去。过去二十年的研究表明，生活在哺乳动物胃肠道中的微生物，即肠道微生物群，可以塑造宿主的新陈代谢、免疫功能和行为。肠道微生物群的组成和功能也因宿主环境因素而异，如饮食。由于这些相互作用，肠道微生物群可以被认为是一种对环境变化做出反应的宿主特征，并有助于确定宿主种群是否能够持续存在。然而，肠道微生物群通常还没有被整合到寄主生态的模型中。该项目旨在确定肠道微生物群对宿主种群动态的影响程度，因此可以被认为是宿主特征，有助于宿主生态模型的改进。研究重点是阿根廷的两个野生、黑色和金色咆哮猴(Alouatta Caraya)。这里的气候是亚热带气候，温度和植物群落结构有明显的季节性变化，这使得锦鸡儿处于营养压力的高风险中。此外，两个研究群体中的一个经历了比另一个更强烈的季节性气候变化。研究小组将收集描述气候和植物群落结构的数据，以及每个种群中五组锦鸡儿在三个季节的食物。描述微生物群及其功能的粪便样本，以及描述锦鸡儿能量平衡和炎症状态的尿样，也将与人口统计学数据一起收集。这些数据将被整合，以确定肠道微生物群如何随着环境变化而变化，确定对锦鸡儿的生理影响，并将这些过程与锦鸡儿种群动态联系起来。这一结果将是将肠道微生物群整合到基于特征的宿主生态框架中的关键的第一步。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Knowledge of how communities of animals respond to environmental change is important for understanding patterns of biodiversity. Identifying the traits that allow a species to occupy a given environment also allows us to predict if that species will be able to persist in the face of environmental perturbation. Research over the past two decades has shown that microbes living in the gastrointestinal tracts of mammals, known as the gut microbiome, can shape host metabolism, immune function, and behavior. The composition and function of the gut microbiome also varies with host environmental factors, such as diet. Because of these interactions, the gut microbiome could be considered a host trait that responds to environmental shifts and helps determine whether host populations can persist. Nevertheless, the gut microbiome has generally not been integrated into models of host ecology. This project aims to determine the extent to which gut microbiomes influence host population dynamics and can therefore be considered a host trait that contributes to the improvement of models of host ecology.The study focuses on two populations of wild, black and gold howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya) in Argentina. Here, the climate is subtropical, with marked seasonal changes in temperature and plant community structure, which puts A. caraya at high risk for nutritional stress. Additionally, one of the two study populations experiences stronger seasonal climate shifts than the other. The research team will collect data describing climate and plant community structure as well as A. caraya diet for five groups of A. caraya in each population during three seasons. Fecal samples for describing the microbiome and its function, and urine for describing A. caraya energy balance and inflammation status, will also be collected along with demographic data. These data will be integrated to determine how the gut microbiome shifts in response to environmental variation, to identify physiological consequences for A. caraya, and to link these processes to A. caraya population dynamics. The results will be a critical first step toward integrating the gut microbiome into trait-based host ecological frameworks.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.