The Radiation of Sponge-Dwelling Shrimp: A New Model System for the Comparative Analysis of Social Evolution

J.E.达菲奖DEB 9815785题目：海绵栖息的虾的辐射：一种新的社会进化比较分析系统以大多数成员牺牲个体繁殖为特征的动物合作群体长期以来一直是行为和进化生态学的一个基本悖论。一种破译共生社会性起源的比较方法，即将共生社会性物种的生态和人口统计学与其最接近的非共生社会性近亲的生态学和人口学进行对比，是对个体和种群水平上的行为研究的潜在有力补充。这种比较方法的潜力在很大程度上仍然没有实现，因为在动物中很少出现共生现象，而且这些起源中的许多都是古老的。这个项目将重建大约40种海绵栖息的长尾对虾之间的系统发育关系，并使用比较的方法来探索与这一群体中先进的社会组织的反复进化相关的生态和人口条件。这项研究的具体目标是对格氏对虾的类群进行分类修订，根据DNA序列和形态建立该类群的有力支持的系统发育，并使用比较方法探索海绵栖息对虾的生态和社会进化之间的联系。这项研究将对已知先进社会组织的唯一海洋动物群体的社会进化的历史和生态进行严格的比较分析。

ABSTRACTPI: J. E. DuffyAward DEB 9815785Title: The radiation of sponge-dwelling shrimp: a new system for the comparative analysis of social evolutionEusociality, characterized by cooperative colonies of animals in which most members sacrifice individual reproduction, has long presented a fundamental paradox for behavioral and evolutionary ecology. A comparative approach to deciphering the origins of eusociality, in which the ecology and demographics of eusocial species are contrasted with those of their closest non-eusocial relatives, represents a potentially powerful complement to behavioral studies at the individual and population levels. The potential of this comparative approach remains largely unrealized because eusociality has arisen only rarely among animals, and many of these origins are ancient. This project will reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships among the approximately 40 species of sponge-dwelling alpheid shrimps, and use comparative methods to explore the ecological and demographic conditions associated with the repeated evolution of advanced social organization in this group. Specific objectives of the proposed research are to produce a taxonomic revision of the gambarelloides species-group of alpheid shrimps, establish a strongly supported phylogeny for the group based on DNA sequences and morphology, and use comparative methods to explore the association between ecology and social evolution in sponge-dwelling shrimps. This research will provide a rigorous comparative analysis of the history and ecology of social evolution in the only marine animal group in which advanced social organization is known.