Advancing trait-based plant ecology: understanding the causes and consequences of trait covariation across biological scales

随着人为环境变化导致第六次大灭绝，生态学在社会中的地位比以往任何时候都更加重要。研究约900万具有独特基因和特征的物种，共性既是生态学的中心目标，也是挑战。为此，植物生态学最近转向了一种基于特征的方法。通过测量所有植物的共同特征，这种方法提供了一种比较物种的通用货币。基于特征的植物生态学通过描述世界范围内的特征尺寸、植物形态变异的主轴和功能组织多样性，在提高共性方面取得了重大进展，每个特征代表多个相关的性状。我的研究突出了我们在理解地方尺度上的性状协变方面的两个关键差距，这项研究将解决这两个问题。我的计划的长期目标是提高我们对生态和进化(I)原因和(Ii)生物尺度上植物性状共同变异的后果的理解。首先，在全球范围内很强，特征维度可以在更多的局部范围内消失，我们不知道为什么。我们不知道局部尺度的过程如何影响支撑全球性状协变模式的机制。其次，在基于性状的生态学中，目前还没有考虑到性状-性状互作对植物跨环境表现的影响。为了解决这些差距，我将研究模式树种、农作物和商业温带树种的碳和水利用特性之间的协调。我的短期目标(O)是：O1。确定碳利用叶片性状种内协变的局部原因；O2。评估水分利用性状在调节碳素利用叶性状之间关系中的作用；评估碳和水分利用特性的种内协变如何限制树种对气候变化的反应。这项研究对生态学和进化论具有广泛的兴趣，因为无论结果如何，它都将在全球范围内推动我们对跨尺度特征-功能关系原因的理解取得重大进展。O1使用了一种在生态学中很少采用的创新的跨尺度方法，评估不同整合原因的相对作用。O2是新的，因为基于特征的生态学很少关注水分利用特征如何影响碳经济特征之间的关系，表现为影响从树木生长到生态系统功能的生态过程。臭氧将提高我们预测树木如何应对气候变化的能力，这对于缓解气候变化对森林生态系统的影响至关重要。森林覆盖了加拿大40%以上的地区，受到气候变化的强烈影响，为其他生物提供了基本的栖息地，是对加拿大林业工业和社会福祉至关重要的资源。学员将在生态学和生态生理学方面获得宝贵的专业和技术技能，这些技能将促进他们在咨询、科学交流、教育或研究方面的职业生涯。

As anthropogenic environmental changes are leading to a 6th mass extinction, Ecology's place in society is more central than ever. Studying ~9 million species with unique genes and traits, generality is both a central goal and challenge of ecology. To that end, plant ecology has recently shifted toward a trait-based approach. Measuring traits common to all plants, this approach provides a common currency to compare species. Trait-based plant ecology has made significant progress toward improving generality by describing trait dimensions, major axes of variation in plant form and function organizing diversity worldwide, each representing multiple correlated traits. My research has highlighted two crucial gaps in our understanding of trait covariation at local scales which this research will address. The long-term goal of my program is to improve our understanding of the ecological and evolutionary (i) causes and (ii) consequences of plant trait covariation across biological scales. First, strong at global scales, trait dimensions can disappear at more local scales and we do not know why. We do not know how local-scale processes affect the mechanisms underpinning global patterns of trait covariation. Second, the effects of trait-trait interactions on plant performance across environments is currently not taken into account in trait-based ecology. To address these gaps, I will examine the coordination among carbon- and water-use traits in model, crop and commercial temperate tree species. My short-term objectives (O) are to: O1. Determine the local causes of intraspecific covariation in carbon-use foliar traits; O2. Assess the role of water-use traits in modulating relationships among carbon-use foliar traits; O3. Assess how intraspecific covariation in carbon- and water-use traits constrain the response of tree species to climate change. The research is of broad interest for ecology and evolution as, no matter the results, it will produce globally significant advances in our understanding of the causes of trait-function relationships across scales. O1 uses an innovative cross-scale approach rarely adopted in ecology that assesses the relative role of different causes of integration. O2 is novel because trait-based ecology has paid little attention to how water-use traits affect relationships among carbon-economic traits, shown to affect ecological processes from tree growth to ecosystem function. O3 will improve our ability to predict how trees respond to climate change, which is essential to mitigate the effects of climate change on forest ecosystems. Covering over 40% of Canada and strongly impacted by climate change, forests provide the basic habitats for other organisms and are a resource critical to the forestry industry and social well-being of Canadians. Trainees will gain valuable professional and technical skills in ecology and ecophysiology that will advance their careers in consulting, scientific communication, education or research.