Molecular basis of adaptation to biological invasions and its utility for conservation under global change

人类的行为改变了生物体之间的关系，促使生物学家更好地理解新的生物相互作用的机制和结果。在这些成果中，对变化的广泛进化反应正在迅速挑战应用生命科学中的许多战略和技术进步。同样重要的是，新的相互作用也在选择积极和可操纵的结果，比如当受威胁的生物适应变化的条件时，或者当本地生物进化到更好地利用生物入侵者时。 在全球变化驱动因素中，生物入侵使人们关注物种之间的相互作用，全球变化驱动因素的许多地方影响可能会在这方面发挥作用。在进化生态学中，入侵也是有科学价值的随机实验。这项研究将调查本地昆虫对植物入侵的反应。具体来说，我计划探索如何本地澳大利亚无患子错误（Leptocoris tagalicus）的遗传基础已经演变为繁荣引进的环境杂草与他们的本地主机。为了应对不同的气球藤物种的引入，澳大利亚无患子虫进化出了更长的口器（“喙”），使它们能够以膨胀的果实为食。调查这种进化是如何发生的，以及它如何成为这些入侵藤蔓植物的一种不断进化的本土生物控制机制，是这项提案的主要目标。要做到这一点，我计划阐明本地和引进主机的肥皂虫生活的进化历史;比较喙长的外来入侵年龄和居住的本地宿主植物的密度的函数;确定喙长的数量遗传学及其后果的进化管理入侵系统，并解开喙适应的分子机制。 该项目代表了进化分析和河岸森林生态系统管理之间的独特联系，它是作为更广泛的计划的一部分，以评估未来的适应性生物程序的有效性Leptocoris作为控制剂的第一步。拟议的研究将导致几个本科生/研究生谁将他们的研究与新技术和教育相结合的培训。无患子虫提供了一个直观清晰的生态适应的例子，使这些昆虫成为进化的优秀大使。通过开发新的平板电脑学习工具，旨在说明GEC和适应的基本概念，该项目将补充正在进行的教育计划，旨在提高公众对进化科学的认识。

Human actions alter relationships among organisms daring biologists to better understand the mechanisms and outcomes of novel biotic interactions. Among the outcomes, widespread evolutionary responses to change are quickly challenging many strategic and technical advances in the applied life sciences. Equally important, new interactions are also selecting for positive and manipulable outcomes, as when threatened organisms adapt to changed conditions, or when natives evolve to better exploit biological invaders. Among global change drivers, biological invasions bring focus to species interactions, where many of the local impacts of global change drivers are likely to play out. Invasions are also scientifically valuable as chance experiments in evolutionary ecology. This research will investigate the evolution in native insects in response to plant invasions. Specifically, I plan to explore the genetic basis of how native Australian soapberry bugs (Leptocoris tagalicus) have evolved to prosper on introduced environmental weeds related to their native hosts. In response to the introduction of different balloon vine species, Australian soapberry bugs have evolved longer mouthparts (‘beaks’) that allow them to feed on the inflated fruits. Investigating how this evolution has taken place, and how it may serve as an evolving indigenous biological control mechanism for these invasive vines, is a chief goal of this proposal. To do so, I plan to elucidate the evolutionary history of soapberry bugs living on both native and introduced hosts; compare beak length on exotics as a function of invasion age and the density of resident native host plants; determine the quantitative genetics of beak length and its consequences for the evolutionary management of invaded systems, and unravel the molecular mechanisms involved in beak adaptation. This project represents a unique link between evolutionary analyses and riparian forest ecosystem management, and it is a first step as part of a broader program to assess the validity of future adaptive biological programs using Leptocoris as a control agent. The proposed research will result in the training of several undergraduate/graduate students who will integrate their research with new technologies and education. Soapberry bugs provide an intuitively clear example of ecological adaptation, making these insects excellent ambassadors for evolution. Through the development of new tablet learning tools aimed to illustrate basic concepts of GEC and adaptation this project will complement ongoing educational programs design to increase the literacy about the science of evolution in the general public.