EAGER: The causes and consequences of clonal diversity in spatially and temporally varying metapopulations

Wayne State University, Detroit MI

Investigators

Abstract

This project addresses a critical question at the intersection of ecology and evolution: what ecological factors maintain genetic variation within a keystone species in an ecosystem and how does that genetic variation feedback on food web interactions to influence temporal variation in the structure and function of ecosystems? This project further extends that question to a metacommunity perspective by explicitly considering spatial variation in ecological communities across a landscape. The research focuses on Daphnia pulex, which is a common grazer species of zooplankton in freshwater ponds. Daphnia reproduce by facultative parthenogenesis and populations are composed of different clones known to vary in ecological traits. Molecular genetic approaches will be used to quantify spatial and temporal clonal variation within and among different pond populations. Hypotheses concerning the relationship of this clonal variation to ecological function will be tested in manipulative experiments conducted in field mesocosms. One trait that is hypothesized to vary among clones is their thermal tolerance; experiments will test for the significance of this variation in enabling populations to adapt to climate warming. This research is ambitious and risky, but also has high potential to produce results that could be transformative to the science of ecology. This project is being funded as an EAGER: Early concept Grant for Exploratory Research. This project will provide research training in aquatic evolutionary ecology for undergraduate and graduate students, including individuals from underrepresented groups. The results from this project will aid in understanding how climate warming will impact aquatic habitats and the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem processes. The project provides support to a beginning investigator at an early career stage.