CAREER: Cooperation on the tree of life: Understanding the drivers of mite-plant defense mutualisms via the integration of evolution, ecology, and education

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

Cooperative interactions between species are common in nature and play a central role in the generation and maintenance of biodiversity and the functioning of ecosystems. However, our understanding of cooperative interactions in the natural world has historically lagged behind the study of antagonistic interactions, such as competition and predation, perpetuating gaps in our ability to maintain biodiversity and ecosystem function. This research focuses on a highly common, but relatively unexplored, cooperative interaction between North American trees and “bodyguard” mites that live on leaves and protect plants against disease. This research asks why some tree species cooperate with mites as a form of defense, while other closely related tree species do not, testing a range of hypotheses about the factors that promote (or break down) cooperation in nature. This project will also include the development of a new science course that allows students to participate in research on cooperative interactions in plants and develop critical thinking skills through the study of trees. Together, the research and education goals of this proposal will result in publicly available data on economically and ecologically important North American trees, their herbivores, and the beneficial mites that protect them from pests and disease. The project will also result in the hands-on training of young scientists, and will include the development of tools aimed at increasing the visibility of research in classrooms. This research will examine processes driving large-scale patterns of variation in investment in plant-animal defense mutualisms. Specifically, the project will investigate the drivers of ecological, micro-, and macro-evolutionary variation in mite domatia (heritable plant structures that house predaceous and fungiviorous mites) at three scales: (a) across eastern North American forest communities, (b) within three genera (Viburnum, Vitis, and Prunus) and (c) within three geographically wide-spread species, Vitis riparia, Viburnum dentatum, and Prunus serotina. This evolutionary research is coupled with an educational plan that integrates data objectives with teaching/training goals through the development of a new mid-level non-majors course titled “Seeing the forest and the trees: The Study of Trees through Science, Art, and Society.” The course will incorporate research activities into undergraduate education to enhance scientific literacy, and will be aimed at groups that have traditionally lacked exposure to science (non-science majors), combining humanities and science perspectives into a course focused on the study of trees. Together, the research and education aims will allow for tests of evolutionary and ecological signatures consistent with long-standing hypotheses about ecological drivers of mutualism across geography and evolutionary time. 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.