Molecular Genetic Techniques: Testing Reproductive Success (Career Advancement Award)

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One of the most exciting recent advances in the field of behavioral ecology is the application of molecular genetic techniques to answer critical questions concerning relative reproductive success of various classes of individuals in populations. Evolutionary interpretations of results of early studies have had to rely on various assumptions about mating patterns, some of which have subsequently been shown to be erroneous using these new techniques. I propose to learn to use these techniques (especially DNA fingerprinting) so that I may answer questions of paternity for studies on the behavioral ecology of lizards, a group of organisms currently under-represented in the behavioral ecology literature yet well-suited to such studies. Reptiles are an important group to include in comparative studies of the evolution of mating systems and social behavior since they represent a bridge between the ectothermic vertebrates and the reproductively terrestrial vertebrates. After learning these techniques at the Genetics Laboratory of the National Zoo, I plan to undertake a behavioral study on alternative mating tactics, followed by paternity analysis. The paternity analysis would take place in the common-use Laboratory of Evolutionary and Ecological Genetics, currently under development in Biology at NMSU, and would test my ability.