Scientific background
The loss of biodiversity, clearly seen over the last few decades, rises understandeable concerns, strengthen by the fact that the reasons for the current rapid species extinction are not fully recognized. It is commonly assumed that species extinction is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, but it is still unclear which are the most important ones. On the one hand, many data indicate on changes at the DNA level and decline of population genetic pools as crucial factors; on the other, degradation of the environment may appear too fast to allow for genetic factors to play any role in exctinctions. Additionally, it is not clear to what extent the loss in genetic diversity correlates with extinction probability of a species. With the present knowledge we still do not know whether natural selection, particularly strong under stressfull conditions, together with the redundancy of genes, can compensate for negative effects of environmental factors, or just the opposite - both kinds of factors interact, leading to the increase in extinction rate.
The research project proposed herein will contribute to explanation of the abovementioned issues. The project iconsists of four scientific tasks which cover a wide range of taxons, environments and stressors, potentially harmful to the stability of the studied populations.
The aim of the project
The aim of the project is to investigate effects of environmental and genetic factors on population extinction risk. Within the project the following tasks have been planned:
- Task 1. Factors of extinction risk of soil microorganisms performing key functions in fundamental biogeochemical processes.
- Task 2. Effect of interaction between population size and copper exposure - studies on the flour beetle Tribolium castaneum.
- Task 3. Predicting effects of exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model for long-term genetic and demographic effects.
- Task 4. Metabolic performance and genetic variation in the small rodent Myodes glareolus from isolated island populations and populations subject to urban pollution.
The first task will explore an influence of anthropogenic (mainly metal pollution) and climatic factors on genetic and functional diversity of soil microorganisms. Edaphic environment is essential for soil ecosystem functioning and any disturbance may affect other parts of the system. Soil ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to fluctuations in numbers of microorganisms taking part in turnover of nutritional elements such as carbon and nitrogen. The remaining three tasks are focused on organisms belonging to higher trophic levels. The second and the fourth deal with similar issues connected with interactions between environmental pollution and fragmentation which may lead to changes in population sizes. The third task concerns some of the most resistant to degradation chemicals - Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), which reach highest concentrations in water organisms. Because of that, studies on interactions between POPs and others factors, including natural, are crucial for the assessment of extinction risk in populations of aquatic organisms.