Dissertation Research: The Evolutionary Persistence of Gynogenetic Lineages and the Role of Frequencey-Dependent Expression of Mating Behaviors

一个更令人困惑的遗传问题是无性繁殖物种是如何随着时间的推移而自我维持的。雌性生殖物种是一种无性繁殖动物，由于繁殖依赖于其他物种的雄性，它们面临着长期生存的障碍。雌核发生的物种不能孤立存在；它必须与另一种具有寄生行为的雄性物种共存。然而，这种相互作用的简单种群模型预测，雌同体发生的物种将迅速灭绝。雌性生殖物种的存在表明，这些模型对现实的描述是不够的。使雌性生殖物种能够持续存在的一个因素是频率依赖行为。本研究将探讨频率依赖行为及其在雌性发生物种维持中的作用。将建立一个包含频率依赖的配偶选择的数学模型，然后将使用两种鱼来测试该模型：雌性生殖鱼和它所依赖的物种。该模型将建立频率依赖的交配水平，理论上可以导致一个雌性生殖物种和它所依赖的物种之间的稳定平衡。这些实验将确定交配选择是否依赖于频率，以及频率依赖是否足以解释雌性生殖物种和它们寄生的物种的共存。

9701135 Hillis One of the more puzzling genetic questions is how clonal species maintain themselves through time. Gynogenetic species are clonal animals that face an obstacle to long-term persistence because reproduction is dependent on males of another species. A gynogenetic species cannot persist in isolation; it must coexist with another species whose males it is capable of parasitizing behaviorally. However, simple population models of such interactions predict that gynogenetic species should rapidly become extinct. The existence of gynogenetic species indicates that these models are an insufficient description of reality. One factor that would allow the persistence of the gynogenetic species is frequency-dependent behavior. This investigation will examine frequency-dependent behaviors and their role in the maintenance of gynogenetic species. A mathematical model will be constructed that incorporates frequency-dependent mate selection, and then the model will be tested using two species of poeciliid fish: the gynogenetic specie and the species upon which it depends. The model will establish the levels of frequency-dependent mating that theoretically can result in a stable equilibrium of a gynogenetic species and the species upon which it depends. The experiments will determine if mate selection is frequency-dependent and if frequency-dependence is great enough to explain the coexistence of gynogenetic species and the species they parasitize.