LTER: Polymorphism and Differentiation in Poecilia latipinna

一个物种的地方种群通常被认为是遗传分化的，以应对产生不同自然选择力量的环境因素的地方差异。大多数这种“适应性分化”的演示实际上并不是基于当地的种群，而是专注于地理上相隔很远或完全没有基因流动联系的种群。因此，能够发生适应性分化的规模仍有待描述。特拉维斯博士之前的工作表明，在对不同地点不同的物理因素的明显反应中，存在广泛的局部差异。下一阶段的研究将(1)检查遗传差异的详细性质，(2)测试关于环境中的物理因素如何产生自然选择的不同力量的假说。

Local populations of a species are often considered to be genetically differentiated in response to local differences in environmental factors that produce divergent forces of natural selection. Most demonstrations of such "adaptive differentiation" are actually not based on local populations but are instead focused on populations that are separated by large geographic distances or are completely unconnected by gene flow. Thus the scale at which adaptive differentiation can occur remains to be delineated. Prior work by Dr. Travis has shown extensive local differentiation in apparent response to physical factors that vary across locations. The next phase of the research will (1) examine the detailed nature of the genetic differences and (2) test the hypotheses for how the physical factors in the environment generate divergent forces of natural selection.