Dissertation Research: Evolutionary Genetics of Selective Preference and Gamete Competition in Drosophila

摘要性选择（sexual selection）是雄性之间为获得配偶而竞争的一种选择力量，近年来受到越来越多的关注。研究人员发现了一系列令人吃惊的生物学特征，这些特征是男性为了获得配偶而进化出来的。这项研究旨在研究雌性如何影响性选择的过程，特别是在果蝇（Drosophila melanogaster）中，来自多个雄性的精子在雌性生殖道内竞争的方式。这项研究的第一个组成部分将研究精子竞争模式如何在不同的女性基因型之间变化。第二个部分将考察男性的吸引力与他的精子与其他男性精子竞争能力之间的关系。最后一个组成部分将决定在实验中吸引力降低的雄性是否由于雌性的兼任性反应而降低了精子的竞争能力。虽然男性在性选择中的作用已被广泛研究，但对女性的作用所知甚少。通常，女性被认为是被动的参与者，她们的偏好和其他生殖行为变化不大。为了更全面地了解生殖决策，我们需要在已经了解雄性交配决策的基础上，对雌性的观点有更全面的了解。

Abstract9902167Sexual selection, the selective force that results from competition between males for access to mates, has received increasing attention in recent years. Researchers have uncovered a startling array of biological traits that males have evolved to enhance their success in obtaining mates. This study seeks to examine how females might influence the process of sexual selection, and in particular, the way in which sperm from multiple males compete within a female's reproductive tract in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. The first component of this study will examine how patterns of sperm competition vary among different female genotypes. The second component will look at the relationship between how attractive a male is and the ability of his sperm to compete with other males' sperm. The final component will determine whether males with experimentally reduced attractiveness have reduced sperm competitive ability, due to facultative responses in the female.While the male role in sexual selection has been examined extensively, far less is known of the female role. Typically, females have been considered as passive participants whose preferences and other reproductive behaviors vary little. In order to more fully understand reproductive decisions in general, we need to add a more complete understanding of the female perspective to what we already know about the mating decisions of males.