Dissertation Research: Dispersal in Metapopulations of Butterflies: Implications for the Dynamics and Genetic Structure of Local Populations

了解扩散对零星分布物种种群的重要性对于种群生态学、进化生物学和保护生物学领域是至关重要的。扩散可以通过迁移率和迁移率的差异来影响种群的波动，并通过基因流动对种群的遗传结构产生重大影响。此外，一个易于局部灭绝的物种在区域内的持久性可能取决于足够高的扩散水平，以允许经常对空置的栖息地进行重新殖民。这一领域有很强的理论基础，但针对这些重要问题的实证研究相对较少。这项研究考察了扩散在零星分布的蝴蝶物种EuPhilotes enoptes的种群动态和遗传结构中的作用。通过观察个体行为和年复一年的种群波动，研究斑块质量和隔离与当地种群动态的相互作用。通过对线粒体DNA标记的调查，斑块的隔离和大小将与基因流和遗传变异性的分配有关。最后，通过对两个集合种群的研究，将检验一个物种的单个集合种群结果的可推广性。

Understanding the importance of dispersal to populations of patchily distributed species is critical to the fields of population ecology, evolutionary biology, and conservation biology. Dispersal can influence population fluctuations through differences in immigration and emigration rates and, through gene flow, can have a major influence on the genetic structure of populations. In addition, the regional persistence of a species prone to local extinction can depend on levels of dispersal high enough to allow frequent recolonization of vacant habitat patches. This area has a strong theoretical basis, but there has been relatively little empirical research directed at answering the important questions. This study examines the role of dispersal in the population dynamics and genetic structure of a patchily distributed butterfly species, Euphilotes enoptes. The interplay of patch quality and isolation with the dynamics of local populations by coupling experiments with observations of individual behavior and year-to-year population fluctuations will be studied. Patch isolation and size will be related to gene flow and the allocation of genetic variability through a survey of mtDNA markers. Finally, by studying two metapopulations, The generalizability of results from a single metapopulation of a species will be examined.