The ecology and evolution of mutualism

理解合作是如何在选择“欺骗”的情况下进化的，是进化生物学的一个核心问题。物种间合作或互惠的进化尤其令人困惑，因为合作伙伴不共享基因，这就排除了包容性适应性的好处。然而，共生关系是普遍的、多样的，而且往往是古老的，它们对生物多样性和生态系统功能有着重要的影响。我的研究项目的长期目标是：1)测试、补充和扩展合作进化理论，以理解互惠关系和其他形式的合作是如何在“欺骗的诱惑”下持续存在的；2)超越欺骗，广泛地表征互惠关系的生态和进化动态。***这项拨款解决了关于共生生态学和进化的四个基本问题：1)物种之间的合作选择了哪些特征，以防止骗子的剥削，这些特征是如何进化的？2)在典型的植物-动物互惠关系中，候选基因是如何调节互惠质量的？3)共同引进的物种之间是否产生了促进生物入侵的正反馈？4)多种动物互惠主义者如何共同对植物性状进行选择？为了回答这些问题，我和我的学生将把实验方法与不同系统的分子和定量遗传分析结合起来，包括豆科植物-根瘤菌，抗植物，授粉和种子传播的相互作用。这项研究将提高我们对互惠共生伙伴如何共同进化的理解，互惠共生在塑造特征进化中的作用，互惠共生对它们所处的生态群落的影响，以及互惠共生作为生态变化的驱动因素。它还将为高素质的学生和博士后提供生态学和进化生物学方面的广泛培训，特别是在如何进行严格的、可操作的野外和温室实验方面，以及遗传学的几个分支和合作进化理论方面。这种综合方法鼓励高级本科生、研究生和博士后的智力发展，并将为他们在基础和应用研究环境中的职业生涯做好准备

Understanding how cooperation evolves despite selection for "cheating" is a central problem in evolutionary biology. The evolution of cooperation between species, or mutualism, is especially perplexing because partners do not share genes, precluding inclusive fitness benefits. Yet mutualisms are common, diverse, and often ancient, and they have important consequences for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. The long-term objectives of my research program are: 1) to test, complement, and extend theory on the evolution of cooperation to understand how mutualisms and other forms of cooperation persist despite the "temptation to cheat," and 2) to look beyond cheating to broadly characterize the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of mutualisms.***This grant addresses four fundamental questions about mutualism ecology and evolution: 1) What traits select for cooperation between species, preventing exploitation by cheaters, and how do these traits evolve? 2) How does a candidate gene modulate mutualist quality in a classic plant-animal mutualism? 3) Does mutualism generate positive feedback between co-introduced species that facilitates biological invasions? And 4) how do multiple animal mutualists collectively exert selection on plant traits? To answer these questions, my students and I will couple experimental methods with molecular and quantitative genetic analyses in diverse systems, including legume-rhizobium, ant-plant, pollination, and seed dispersal mutualisms. This research will improve our understanding of how partners in mutualisms coevolve, the role of mutualism in shaping trait evolution, the consequences of mutualisms for the ecological communities in which they are embedded, and mutualisms as drivers of ecological change. It will also provide high-caliber students and postdoctoral fellows with broad training in ecology and evolutionary biology, especially in how to conduct rigorous, manipulative field and greenhouse experiments, as well as in several branches of genetics and in theory on the evolution of cooperation. This integrative approach encourages the intellectual development of advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows, and will prepare them for careers in basic and applied research environments.**