CAREER: Integrating biochemical, physiological and morphological responses of plants to changes in water availability

职业：整合植物对可用水量变化的生化、生理和形态反应

• 批准号: 1256827
• 负责人: Jennifer Funk
• 金额: $ 61.32万
• 依托单位: Chapman University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-06-01 至 2019-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1256827&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Integrating; biochemical; physiological; morphological

This research addresses how leaf, stem and root traits collectively influence organismal responses to different precipitation scenarios across multiple species in a Mediterranean-climate ecosystem. Precipitation in arid and semi-arid environments can vary strongly within and across years and plant fitness can depend on rapid or efficient utilization of water during these events. Plant species adapted to arid systems possess numerous leaf, stem and root traits that serve to minimize water stress, but it remains unclear whether these water conservation traits limit a plant's ability to rapidly respond to precipitation events and how water acquisition and conservation traits correspond to plant fitness. The proposed research is organized around two questions: (1) is there a trade-off between the ability to respond to sudden changes in water availability and a water conservation strategy, and (2) how do traits pertaining to water acquisition and conservation correlate with plant fitness and how does this depend on the magnitude and frequency of precipitation? These questions will be examined in four annual and six perennial species from a southern California coastal sage scrub community. Understanding how biochemical, morphological and physiological processes result in integrated organismal responses to environmental variation will improve predictive models of community response to climate change. Mediterranean-climate ecosystems are among the regions of the world most likely to be affected by climate change and the proposed work will collect critical information needed to restore these unique, threatened ecosystems. For example, understanding how species use water under a variety of precipitation scenarios may improve restoration efforts in systems invaded by exotic plant species by allowing resource managers to identify native species that use resources in a similar way, which may increase community resilience to invasion. This CAREER proposal represents a fully integrated plan of research and education though supervised and independent research (undergraduate, high school summer internships) and courses at the undergraduate and high school level. The study will be conducted at a small, undergraduate institution and will provide four undergraduate researchers per year with opportunities to enhance research, analytical and communication skills. Most of these students will continue into graduate programs or pursue careers in ecology or plant biology. Students from four upper-division biology courses will be directly involved in collecting and analyzing data from the proposed field experiment. High school science students from traditionally underrepresented groups will participate in weekly meetings at the PIs lab to set up a greenhouse experiment and collect and analyze data. High school students will also participate in weekend field trips and have the opportunity to conduct summer internships. The research grant will also help to establish long-term plots for the young female professor who is serving as the PI. The PI will engage the scientific community, resource managers and the general public through public lectures, local restoration activities, and continued collaborations with resource managers at the Irvine Ranch Conservancy.

这项研究介绍了叶，茎和根特征如何统一影响地中海气候生态系统中多种物种的不同降水情景的生物反应。 干旱和半干旱环境中的降水可能会在几年内和多年内发生较大的变化，而植物的适应性可以取决于这些事件期间水的快速或有效利用。 适应干旱系统的植物物种具有许多叶片，茎和根性状，可最大程度地减少水的压力，但尚不清楚这些节水特征是否会限制植物快速响应降水事件的能力，以及植物的获取和保护性状如何对应健康。 拟议的研究围绕两个问题进行了组织：（1）在响应供水和节水策略的突然变化的能力之间进行了权衡，以及（2）与获取和保护有关的特征如何与之相关。植物健身，这如何取决于降水的幅度和频率？ 这些问题将在南加州沿海鼠尾草灌木社区的四种年度和六种多年生植物中进行检查。 了解生化，形态和生理过程如何导致对环境变化的综合有机体反应将改善社区对气候变化的反应的预测模型。 地中海气候生态系统是世界上最有可能受到气候变化影响的世界之一，拟议的工作将收集恢复这些独特，受威胁的生态系统所需的关键信息。 例如，了解物种如何在各种降水场景下使用水，可以通过允许资源经理识别以类似方式使用资源的本地物种来改善被外来植物物种入侵的恢复工作，这可能会增加社区对入侵的抵御能力。 该职业建议代表了一项完全融合的研究和教育计划，尽管有监督和独立的研究（本科，高中暑期实习）和本科和高中级的课程。 该研究将在一个小型的本科机构进行，每年将为四名本科研究人员提供增强研究，分析和沟通技巧的机会。 这些学生中的大多数将继续研究研究生课程或从事生态或植物生物学的职业。 来自四个上级生物学课程的学生将直接参与收集和分析拟议现场实验的数据。 传统上代表性不足的小组的高中科学专业的学生将参加PIS实验室的每周会议，以建立温室实验并收集和分析数据。 高中生还将参加周末实地考察，并有机会进行暑期实习。研究赠款还将有助于为担任PI的年轻女教授建立长期阴谋。 PI将通过公开讲座，当地恢复活动以及与Irvine Ranch保护区的资源经理继续合作，与科学界，资源经理和公众参与。