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

了解斑驳分布物种的种群扩散的重要性对种群生态学、进化生物学和保护生物学等领域至关重要。扩散可以通过移民和移徙率的差异影响人口波动，并通过基因流动对人口的遗传结构产生重大影响。此外，一个容易在当地灭绝的物种在该地区的持久性可能取决于其扩散程度是否足够高，足以让空置的栖息地频繁重新定居。这一领域有很强的理论基础，但针对回答这些重要问题的实证研究相对较少。本研究探讨了分散在斑片分布的蝴蝶物种Euphilotes enoptes的种群动态和遗传结构中的作用。将通过结合个体行为观察和种群年复一年波动的实验，研究斑块质量和隔离与当地种群动态的相互作用。通过对mtDNA标记的调查，斑块的分离和大小将与基因流动和遗传变异的分配有关。最后，通过对两个元种群的研究，将检验单个物种元种群结果的通用性。

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.