Unifying the mechanisms that drive spatial patterns in biological traits

该项目旨在解决产生生物性状空间变异的机制。该项目希望通过使用机械建模、基于实地的生态生理学研究和宏观生态分析来克服以前调查的几个重大缺点，以发展一种单一的、综合的方法来调查大小、颜色、生活史和繁殖的地理变化。预期结果是对空间性状变异统一机制的综合实证检验，以不同的陆生脊椎动物谱系为模型系统。本研究结果将为预测未来人为气候变化下的生物性状变异模式提供一个强有力的框架。

The project aims to resolve the mechanisms that generate spatial variation in biological traits. This project expects to overcome several significant shortcomings of previous investigations by using mechanistic modelling, field-based ecophysiological studies, and macroecological analyses to develop a single, integrated approach to investigating geographic variation in size, colour, life history and reproduction. The expected outcomes are a comprehensive empirical test of a unified mechanism for spatial trait variation, using a diverse terrestrial vertebrate lineage as a model system. The results of this study should provide a powerful framework for predicting future patterns of biological trait variation under anthropogenic climate change.