DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Post-introduction Evolution of Increased Invasiveness in Bromus Tectorum, an Invasive Grass, Bromus Tectorum

论文研究：无芒雀麦（一种入侵性草类）入侵性增强的引入后进化

• 批准号: 0412206
• 负责人: Peter Alpert
• 金额: $ 0.49万
• 依托单位: University of Massachusetts Amherst
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-06-01 至 2006-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0412206&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Post; introduction; Evolution

Invasions of native plant communities by exotic, weedy species are an important component of human-induced environmental change. This process may drastically and rapidly change the biodiversity of natural habitats, but the processes determining the degree and rapidity of such invasions are poorly studied. When an exotic or weedy species moves into a new habitat, it may undergo evolutionary change as it adapts to the novel environment and to a new community of species with which it interacts. If this evolutionary change results in improved growth, reproduction, and survival in the newly inhabited region, then evolution may play a major role in invasion success. This possibility has been little explored, and is the subject of this research project. The PIs have identified pairs of populations of the invasive plant, Bromus tectorum, where one population represents an introduced (or "invading") population, and the paired population is the source of the introduction. The proposed research will specifically test whether the introduced (i.e., invading) populations exhibit stronger competitive ability than the source populations from which they originated. The proposed work will improve our understanding of the mechanisms associated with the successful invasions of exotic plants. This research can give insight not only into mechanisms of invasion, but also into processes of microevolution, information much needed in these times of rapid global change.

异国情调的植物群落的入侵是人类引起的环境变化的重要组成部分。 这个过程可能会大大而迅速地改变自然栖息地的生物多样性，但是确定此类入侵的程度和速度的过程研究很少。 当异国情调或杂草物种进入新的栖息地时，它可能会经历进化的变化，因为它适应了新的环境以及与之相互作用的新物种社区。 如果这种进化变化导致新居民地区的增长，繁殖和生存的改善，那么进化可能在入侵成功中起主要作用。 这种可能性几乎没有探索，并且是该研究项目的主题。 PI已经确定了入侵植物Bromus Tectorum的成对人群，其中一个人口代表了引入（或“入侵”）人口，而成对的人群是引入的来源。 拟议的研究将特别测试引入的（即入侵）人群是否表现出比其发起的源人群更强的竞争能力。 拟议的工作将提高我们对与外来植物成功入侵相关的机制的理解。这项研究不仅可以洞悉入侵机制，还可以介绍微观进化的过程，在这些迅速的全球变化时期所需的信息。