Genetic and Environmental Influences on Behavioral Flexibilty in an Insect

9306818丁格尔 由于个体之间的大多数行为变异可能是基因和环境之间相互作用的结果，因此研究不同基因型在一系列环境条件下的行为是有利的。 从这个角度来看，丁格尔和卡罗尔博士将比较社会，数量遗传和人口的影响，从两个不同的环境中的战术决策的无患子错误。 与昆虫物种一起工作允许在短时间内饲养许多代，因此增加了获得可靠结果的机会。 丁格尔和卡罗尔博士将通过实验操纵这些动物所经历的环境，以揭示基因和环境如何相互作用，从而在种群之间和个体之间产生行为差异。 这里采取的方法举例说明了行为进化研究的新模型范式。 动物行为的研究以前曾研究过个体差异的生态和社会原因，但几乎没有人试图分析基因和环境（先天和后天）如何共同影响行为。 人类心理学是这种概括的一个例外：通过将谱系信息与环境分析相结合，对人类行为的研究已经达到了对其他动物很少探索的水平。 由于昆虫可以很快地繁殖出许多个体，而且人们发现它们和其他种类的动物一样有着同样多的行为变异，因此昆虫是这种研究的极好的模式生物。

9306818 Dingle Because most behavioral variation among individuals probably results from interactions between genes and environments, it is advantageous to study the behavior of different genotypes across a range of environmental conditions. Using this perspective, Drs. Dingle and Carroll will compare social, quantitative genetic, and populational influences on the tactical decisions of soapberry bugs from two different environments. Working with an insect species permits raising many generations in a short period of time, and so increases the chances of obtaining reliable results. Drs. Dingle and Carroll will experimentally manipulate the environments that these animals experience to reveal how genes and environment interact to create behavioral differences between populations and among individuals. The approach taken here exemplifies a new model paradigm for the study of behavioral evolution. Studies of animal behavior have previously examined ecological and social causes of individual differences, but hardly any have attempted to analyze how genes and the environment (nature and nurture) influence behavior together. Human psychology is an exception to this generalization: By combining pedigree information with environmental analyses, the study of human behavior has advanced on levels little explored for other animals. Because so many individuals can be raised so quickly, and because they have been found to have as much behavioral variation as do other kinds of animals, insects are excellent model organisms for this kind of study.