EAGER: The relative contributions of pollen and seed dispersal to gene flow and propagule survival in a tropical palm

EAGER：花粉和种子传播对热带棕榈基因流和繁殖体存活的相对贡献

• 批准号: 1548548
• 负责人: Jordan Karubian
• 金额: $ 20万
• 依托单位: Tulane University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-10-01 至 2019-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1548548&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; relative; contributions; pollen; seed

Many plants rely on animals to pollinate their flowers and disperse their seeds. These services are important because most plants are literally rooted in place, with animals providing one of their only opportunities to colonize new places. Ecologists are especially interested in the relative importance of seed dispersal and pollination. If, for example, seed dispersal is more important than pollination, then declines in seed disperser populations will have greater ecological impacts than declines in pollinators. This project will use genetic techniques and field experiments to test the impact of pollinators and seed dispersers on the ability of a tropical tree to grow and survive under conditions near and far from parent trees of the same species. The researchers will integrate their work with education and sustainable development programs that are designed to improve conservation outcomes in the study area, a biodiversity hotspot in Ecuador. The project will provide training for undergraduates, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, and will use public presentations, websites, film and video to communicate results to the public.The study design combines correlative data from the field with experiments and molecular analyses to address how seed dispersal mediates the initial pattern of gene flow achieved by pollination and to investigate how patterns of mortality shape the relative contribution of pollen vs. seed dispersal at successive life stages. The particular focus is on how genetic 'uniqueness' of a dispersed seed (i.e., the seed's genotype relative to the existing genetic background of all other seeds nearby) may influence its survival. The study system is an animal-dispersed tropical palm, Oenocarpus bataua, in northwest Ecuador. The working hypotheses are that: (1) long distance seed dispersal will promote gene flow by introducing novel male gametic genotypes into seed pools; (2) after controlling for dispersal distance and density, genetic uniqueness will be associated with increased seed and seedling survival; and, (3) the relative contribution of seed dispersal to realized gene flow will increase across successive life stages. Dispersal kernels will be calculated for both pollen and seeds via molecular analyses. Survival of naturally dispersed seeds will be analyzed in relation to dispersal distance, conspecific density, and genetic uniqueness. A complementary, field-based reciprocal transplant experiment will manipulate genetic uniqueness and dispersal distance of seeds, then provide data on subsequent growth and survival of seedlings. Finally, genetic structure will be compared across multiple age classes, from seed to adult. Many students will be mentored in research. Results will be disseminated through a blog and a YouTube channel, and incorporated into a field course.

许多植物依靠动物来授粉花朵并散布种子。这些服务很重要，因为大多数植物实际上都植根于适当的位置，而动物是殖民新地方的唯一机会之一。 生态学家对种子分散和授粉的相对重要性特别感兴趣。 例如，如果种子分散比授粉更重要，那么种子分散剂种群的下降将产生比传粉媒介下降更大的生态影响。 该项目将使用遗传技术和现场实验来测试传粉媒介和种子分散剂对热带树在靠近同一物种的父树附近和远处生长和生存的能力的影响。 研究人员将将他们的工作与旨在改善厄瓜多尔生物多样性热点研究领域的保护成果的教育和可持续发展计划相结合。该项目将为本科生，研究生和博士后研究员提供培训，并将使用公众演示，网站，电影，电影和视频将结果传达给公众。该研究设计结合了实验的相关数据与实验和分子分析相关性数据，以解决种子的最初促进群体的促进范围的概述，以调查种子的最初范围，以促进种子的最初范围。阶段。特别的重点是分散种子的遗传“唯一性”如何（即种子的基因型相对于附近所有其他种子的现有遗传背景）如何影响其存活。研究系统是厄瓜多尔西北部的动物散布的热带棕榈，oenocarpus bataua。工作假设是：（1）长距离种子扩散将通过将新型男配子基因型引入种子库中来促进基因流； （2）在控制扩散距离和密度后，遗传唯一性将与种子和幼苗生存增加有关； （3）种子分散对实现的基因流的相对贡献将在连续的生命阶段增加。通过分子分析，将对花粉和种子进行分散核。将根据分散距离，同种密度和遗传独特性分析自然分散种子的存活。一个基于现场的互补移植实验将操纵种子的遗传独特性和扩散距离，然后提供有关随后的幼苗生长和存活的数据。最后，将比较从种子到成人的多个年龄段的遗传结构。 许多学生将受到研究的指导。 结果将通过博客和YouTube频道传播，并将其整合到现场课程中。