Dissertation Research: The Scale of Predator-Prey Interactions: Gene Flow and the Geographic Mosaic

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0104995Brodie Coevolution is the process by which two participants reciprocally affect the evolution of traits in each other. Typically, coevolution is considered to be a process that occurs between different species. The geographic mosaic theory of coevolution predicts that coevolutionary interactions will vary across geographic locales. Furthermore, this theory states that processes that differentially affect the genetic makeup of individual locales (e.g. migration, extinction, recolonization) will play a role in the outcome of the coevolutionary interaction globally and locally. The current research will test how migration between populations affects the dynamics of a predator-prey coevolutionary interaction on different geographic scales. The target species for the project are the toxic newt Taricha granulosa and its resistant garter snake predator Thamnophis sirtalis. Data on toxicity in newts and resistance in garter snakes will be collected to evaluate the strength of the coevolutionary interaction in populations. Tissue samples will be collected for genetic analyses that will estimate migration between populations.This research will test the geographic mosaic theory of coevolution in a predator-prey system, thereby giving a better understanding of coevolutionary interactions. Understanding how species interact is important to the understanding of ecosystems and important to the conservation of ecosystems. Migration of animals between populations can play a critical role in the balance and persistence of populations. This project has implications for the release of captive bred animals into natural populations (simulating large scale migration). Additionally, tetrodotoxin (the toxin found in Taricha) is widely used in neurobiology as a sodium channel blocker. Studying garter snake resistance sheds light on natural sodium channel variation and function in the nervous system.