Examining and predicting the adaptive capacity of individuals to cope with environmental change

检查和预测个体应对环境变化的适应能力

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-06768
• 负责人: Semeniuk, Christina
• 金额: $ 2.91万
• 依托单位: University of Windsor
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=687696
• 关键词: Examining; predicting; adaptive; capacity; individuals

Over time, animals have evolved mechanisms to respond and perform optimally to expected ecological and environmental variation. However, when experiencing anthropogenic change certain species succeed while others fail, challenging our ability to accurately assess how, why, and when success will occur. I am developing a robust new approach of predictive systems ecology that recognizes that the positive and negative effects of rapid ecological change (REC) on population persistence depend on the species' adaptive capacity - the ability of the individual or population to cope and persist with change. My work and others' suggest behavioural flexibility (adjusting behaviours to environmental stimuli) is key in explaining variation in the success of species to resist REC. What is unknown however, is ways to identify whether the animal's adaptive capacity is more constrained by the biology of the species or by its environmental setting. To address this knowledge gap, one must additionally consider the individual's underlying physiological and/or genomic phenotype equally with the (a)biotic multiple stressors the animal is exposed to. My research program focuses on three objectives in specific systems under REC: i) the role of behavioural flexibility in mediating an individual's ability to persist in situ or shift to more suitable habitat; ii) how these behavioural traits integrate with underlying physiological and/or gene-expression phenotypes to generate physiological acclimation, allostatic overload, or the potential for evolutionary adaptation; and iii) how the resulting integrated response influences an individual's performance within a community context under various future multiple-stressor scenarios. I use a combination of sophisticated field, lab, and modelling approaches to couple behavioural-ecological data with performance under environmental stressors to determine the causes and consequences of decision-making under current and future REC. I am applying my framework to three Canadian systems in peril across taxa characterized by differences in life-history, fitness-maximizing decisions, and REC stressors that can constrain or uncouple adaptive capacity. Strategically however, they are unified conceptually by facing a common additional and increasing stressor: thermal stress. In each system I will test if animals capable of better tracking and responding to new changes in their environment will display positive performance and fitness, and whether the extent of an individual's inherent capacity to adapt can be constrained or affected by extrinsic factors such as environmental quality, competitors and/or predators. Together, my program is designed to help improve conservation strategies by more readily identifying and enhancing populations that have the highest potential to adapt to changing conditions. In the modern world, I posit this caliber of predictive power in the face of increasing environmental change is now more vital than ever.

随着时间的流逝，动物发展了对预期的生态和环境变化作出最佳响应和最佳作用的机制。但是，当经历人为变化时，某些物种成功而其他物种失败了，挑战了我们准确评估如何，为什么以及何时发生成功的能力。我正在开发一种强大的预测系统生态学新方法，该方法认识到快速生态变化（REC）对种群持久性的正面和负面影响取决于该物种的适应能力 - 个人或人群应对并坚持变化的能力。我的工作和其他人的表明行为灵活性（调整了环境刺激的行为）是解释物种成功抗rec的差异的关键。但是，未知的是确定动物的适应能力是否受到该物种的生物学或环境环境的限制。为了解决这一知识差距，还必须同时考虑该动物暴露于动物的（a）生物多重压力的（a）生物多重压力的人的基本生理和/或基因组表型。我的研究计划侧重于REC下的特定系统中的三个目标：i）行为灵活性在介导个人持续存在或转移到更合适栖息地的能力中的作用； ii）这些行为特征如何与潜在的生理和/或基因表达表型相结合，以产生生理适应，同级超负荷或进化适应的潜力； iii）在各种未来的多应力场景下，所产生的综合响应如何影响个人在社区环境中的表现。我将复杂的领域，实验室和建模方法结合在一起，将行为生态数据与环境压力源下的绩效融为一体，以确定当前和未来REC下决策的原因和后果。我将我的框架应用于三个加拿大系统的三个危险系统中，其特征是生活历史，适应性最大化的决策以及可以限制或取消适应能力的压力源。但是，从策略上讲，它们通过面对共同的额外和增加的压力来在概念上统一：热应力。在每个系统中，我将测试能够更好地跟踪和应对其环境变化的动物是否会表现出积极的性能和适应性，以及个人适应能力的范围是否会受到外在因素（例如环境质量，竞争者和/或掠夺者）的限制或影响。我的计划共同旨在通过更容易地识别和增强适应不断变化的条件的最高潜力的人群来帮助改善保护策略。在现代世界中，我认为面对日益增长的环境变化，这种预测能力的能力现在比以往任何时候都更加重要。