Climate warming and the collapse of trade-offs mediating species coexistence

该项目将研究竞争和避免捕食者之间的权衡如何受到气候变暖的影响。没有一个物种能同时在生存所需的一切方面都做得最好。事实上，在生活的一个方面表现良好往往意味着在另一个方面表现较差。其中一个权衡是，更善于躲避捕食者的物种往往是更差的竞争对手。同样，竞争力强的物种往往不善于躲避捕食者。这种权衡有助于维持社区的生物多样性，因为它防止任何一个物种占主导地位。然而，竞争和捕食是敏感的温度，并不是所有的物种都可能对变暖作出相同的反应。因此，在气候变暖的情况下，竞争和躲避捕食者之间的权衡可能会发生变化。改变这种权衡可能导致生物多样性和关键生态系统服务的丧失。该项目将培训未来的K-12科学教育工作者进行科学探究。此外，该项目将涉及研究本科生，并将教授研究生现代研究技术。教育和科学培训将为公民提供机会，批判性地思考为什么生物多样性在我们不断变化的星球上正在发生变化。许多研究表明，气候变暖可以改变共同生活在生态群落中的物种的数量和类型。然而，导致这些物种共存变化的机制尚不清楚。这项研究将使用淡水豆娘的实验，以发展一个机制的理解，气候变暖如何影响竞争和捕食之间的权衡。该项目将使用实验室实验来确定温度升高如何影响竞争和捕食。实验之后将进行定量遗传研究，评估竞争和捕食之间权衡所涉及的性状的遗传基础。最后，该项目将使用实地实验来测试变暖如何影响大型中型生态系统中的物种共存。权衡是群落生态学和进化生物学的核心原则。因此，研究结果将对理解社区的结构以及未来可能发生的变化产生影响。此外，该项目将探讨物种如何进化以在社区中持续存在。总的来说，这些研究建立了一个全面的研究计划，建立了一个机械基础，连接行为，生理和进化过程，这些过程决定了气候变暖将如何影响物种共存的能力。该项目由人口和社区生态学，刺激竞争研究的既定计划（EPSCoR），该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will investigate how trade-offs between competition and avoiding predators may be affected by climate warming. No single species can simultaneously be best at everything it has to do to survive. Indeed, performing well at one facet of life often means doing poorer at another. One such trade-off is that species that are better at avoiding predators are often poorer competitors. Likewise, species that are strong competitors are often bad at avoiding predators. This trade-off helps maintain biodiversity in communities since it prevents any one species from dominating. However, competition and predation are sensitive to temperature and not all species may respond identically to warming. Consequently, the trade-off between competition and predator avoidance may change in a warming climate. Altering this trade-off may result in a loss of biodiversity and critical ecosystem services. This project will train future K-12 science educators in scientific inquiry. Additionally, the project will involve undergraduate students in research and will teach graduate students about modern research techniques. Together, the education and scientific training will provide opportunities for citizens to think critically about why biodiversity is being altered on our changing planet.Many studies have shown that climate warming can change the number and type of species that live together in ecological communities. Yet, the mechanisms that lead to these changes in species coexistence are unclear. This research will use experiments on freshwater damselflies to develop a mechanistic understanding of how climate warming affects trade-offs between competition and predation. The project will use laboratory experiments to determine how competition and predation are affected by increased temperature. The experiments will be followed by a quantitative genetic study that will assess the genetic basis of the traits involved in the trade-off between competition and predation. Last, the project will use field experiments to test how warming affects species coexistence in large mesocosms. Trade-offs are a central principle in both community ecology and evolutionary biology. As such, the results will have implications for understanding how and why communities are structured and may change in the future. Further, the project will address how species have evolved to persist in communities. Collectively, the studies establish a comprehensive research program that builds a mechanistic foundation to connect the behavioral, physiological, and evolutionary processes that determine how climate warming will impact the ability of species to coexist.This project is jointly funded by Population and Community Ecology, the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), and Evolutionary Processes.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.