NSF Award
2306183
This project will investigate how trade-offs between competition and avoiding predators may be affected by climate warming. No single species can simultaneously be best at everything it has to do to survive. Indeed, performing well at one facet of life often means doing poorer at another. One such trade-off is that species that are better at avoiding predators are often poorer competitors. Likewise, species that are strong competitors are often bad at avoiding predators. This trade-off helps maintain biodiversity in communities since it prevents any one species from dominating. However, competition and predation are sensitive to temperature and not all species may respond identically to warming. Consequently, the trade-off between competition and predator avoidance may change in a warming climate. Altering this trade-off may result in a loss of biodiversity and critical ecosystem services. This project will train future K-12 science educators in scientific inquiry. Additionally, the project will involve undergraduate students in research and will teach graduate students about modern research techniques. Together, the education and scientific training will provide opportunities for citizens to think critically about why biodiversity is being altered on our changing planet.<br/><br/>Many studies have shown that climate warming can change the number and type of species that live together in ecological communities. Yet, the mechanisms that lead to these changes in species coexistence are unclear. This research will use experiments on freshwater damselflies to develop a mechanistic understanding of how climate warming affects trade-offs between competition and predation. The project will use laboratory experiments to determine how competition and predation are affected by increased temperature. The experiments will be followed by a quantitative genetic study that will assess the genetic basis of the traits involved in the trade-off between competition and predation. Last, the project will use field experiments to test how warming affects species coexistence in large mesocosms. Trade-offs are a central principle in both community ecology and evolutionary biology. As such, the results will have implications for understanding how and why communities are structured and may change in the future. Further, the project will address how species have evolved to persist in communities. Collectively, the studies establish a comprehensive research program that builds a mechanistic foundation to connect the behavioral, physiological, and evolutionary processes that determine how climate warming will impact the ability of species to coexist.<br/><br/>This project is jointly funded by Population and Community Ecology, the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), and Evolutionary Processes.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
