CAREER: Natural enemies, chemical defenses and the diversification of Amazonian trees

职业：天敌、化学防御和亚马逊树木的多样化

• 批准号: 1254214
• 负责人: Paul V. Fine
• 金额: $ 57.74万
• 依托单位: University of California-Berkeley
• 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: 2013-01-01 至 2018-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1254214&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Natural; enemies; chemical; defenses

Biologists have long hypothesized that insects and pathogens are directly involved in the origin and maintenance of plant diversity, especially in the extraordinarily diverse tropical rainforests. The evolution of novel chemical defenses that deter insects and pathogens has been thought to allow plants to expand their geographic ranges, thereby promoting the formation of new species. Very little is known about the identity or distribution of the enemies that attack tropical plants or how host-specific they are. In this research, populations of 45 species from a common, diverse genus of tropical rainforest trees (Protium) in Peru, Brazil and French Guiana will be studied to learn about which insects and pathogens attack the plants and how the plants defend themselves. By simultaneously studying natural enemies, plant defenses, and the evolutionary history of plants, insects, and soil pathogens the investigators will gain new insights on the processes that generate high biodiversity in the Amazon basin. This project will train scientists both in Peru and the United States, with a focus on promoting opportunities for students from underrepresented socioeconomic groups. A summer field course in Peru will be developed for Peruvian and US students at the University of California at Berkeley, that will teach ecology, evolutionary biology, taxonomy of plants and insects, experimental design and research methods. This project will integrate research and education with international field biology and involve minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Students will be recruited from an existing program at Berkeley that mentors first-generation college students, providing critical field biology opportunities for students who are generally offered only lab-based research positions.

生物学家长期以来一直假设昆虫和病原体直接参与植物多样性的起源和维持，特别是在极其多样化的热带雨林中。人们认为，阻止昆虫和病原体的新型化学防御系统的进化可以使植物扩大其地理范围，从而促进新物种的形成。人们对攻击热带植物的天敌的身份或分布以及它们的宿主特异性知之甚少。在这项研究中，将对来自秘鲁、巴西和法属圭亚那的常见热带雨林树属（Protium）的 45 个物种进行研究，以了解哪些昆虫和病原体攻击植物以及植物如何保护自己。通过同时研究天敌、植物防御以及植物、昆虫和土壤病原体的进化历史，研究人员将对亚马逊流域产生高生物多样性的过程获得新的见解。 该项目将培训秘鲁和美国的科学家，重点是为来自代表性不足的社会经济群体的学生提供机会。加州大学伯克利分校将为秘鲁和美国学生开设秘鲁夏季实地课程，教授生态学、进化生物学、植物和昆虫分类学、实验设计和研究方法。该项目将把研究和教育与国际领域生物学结合起来，并让少数族裔和社会经济弱势学生参与。学生将从伯克利分校现有的项目中招募，该项目指导第一代大学生，为通常只提供实验室研究职位的学生提供关键的领域生物学机会。