RUI: Hormonal and Morphological Variation

9506781斯图布进化生物学中一个耐人寻味的问题是新的特征是如何产生的。在蜥蜴属的几个物种中，雌性蜥蜴表现出通常只有雄性才表现出的特征。斯陶布博士的研究目标是检查女性这些特征正常表达的荷尔蒙基础。她将使用比较和实验的方法来研究荷尔蒙和形态变化之间的关系。在拟议的项目中，将研究物种之间以及男性和女性之间下颌肌肉对男性性激素(雄激素)的敏感性的差异。此外，还将分析激素水平，以确定雄激素和雌激素的季节模式。结果将在进化框架内进行分析，目的是了解荷尔蒙变化如何解释这一火蜥蜴群体中表现出的深刻的形状差异。拟议项目的意义在于，它将提供有关雄激素在女性特征发育中的作用的信息，这一作用仍然相对未被探索。***

9506781 Staub One of the intriguing questions in evolutionary biology is how do new traits arise. In several species of the salamander genus Aneides, females express features that typically are expressed only in males. Dr. Staub's research goal is to examine the hormonal basis for the normal expression of these traits in females. She will use both a comparative and experimental approach to investigate the relationship between hormonal and morphological variation. In the proposed project, differences between species and between males and females in jaw muscle sensitivity to male sex hormones (androgens) will be examined. In addition, hormone levels will be analyzed to determine seasonal patterns of androgens and estrogens. Results will be analyzed in an evolutionary framework with the goal of understanding how hormonal variation can explain the profound shape variation expressed within this salamander group. The significance of the proposed project is that it will provide information on the role of androgens in the development of female traits, a role that has remained relatively unexplored. ***