| Project/Area Number |
22K15186
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Review Section |
Basic Section 45040:Ecology and environment-related
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| Research Institution | Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University |
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Principal Investigator |
ARMITAGE David 沖縄科学技術大学院大学, 統合群集生態学ユニット, 准教授 (40912390)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2022-04-01 – 2025-03-31
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| Project Status |
Granted (Fiscal Year 2023)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥4,550,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,050,000)
Fiscal Year 2023: ¥4,030,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥930,000)
Fiscal Year 2022: ¥520,000 (Direct Cost: ¥400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥120,000)
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| Keywords | phytochemistry / chemical ecology / botany / community ecology / ecology / community / Decomposition / Phytochemistry / Microbial ecology |
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| Outline of Research at the Start |
I will first investigate whether anthropogenic forcing on plant communities impacts the distribution of phytochemicals across the landscape of Okinawa. Next, I will experimentally determine whether leaf chemistry selects for optimized microbial decomposer communities.
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
We have characterised the phytochemistry of approximately 200 native plant species on Okinawa (primarily trees, shrubs, and ferns). This work remains ongoing. Initial proof-of-concept is focused on mangrove trees but will be expanded to all habitats once a reliable analytical pipeline is established.
Presentation of these results was carried out at two international meetings in the USA and Japan.
For the decomposition component of the project, we successfully ran a study to measure the decomposition rates of the plant Crotalaria juncea, either with or without the production of the toxic alkaloid monocrotaline. Preliminary results suggest that the presence of the alkaloid slows decomposition. Further confirmatory studies are underway, and the microbiome data will be sequenced soon.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
Delays have only occurred due to the breakdown or replacement of machinery.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
We will focus on site surveys to link the chemical data we have collected to real tree communities. The participants responsible for data analysis will also be obtaining training in computational metabolomics in order to build an analytical pipeline that will facilitate compound identification, as this is currently the limiting step in progress.
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