Dissertation Research: Testing for Disruptive Competition in Solitary Populations of the Three-spined Stickleback

论文研究：三刺棘鱼独居种群中破坏性竞争的测试

• 批准号: 0105147
• 负责人: Peter Wainwright
• 金额: $ 1万
• 依托单位: University of California-Davis
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2001
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2001-06-15 至 2003-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0105147&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; Testing; Disruptive; Competition

Wainwright0105147Sympatric speciation, in which a single population undergoes an evolutionary split into two co-occurring species, has been a source of controversy for 50 years. Many biologists believe species split only when populations are geographically divided. Skepticism about sympatric speciation is due to theoretical criticisms and the paucity of unambiguous examples. The idea has regained acceptance lately, due to accumulating empirical examples and supportive theoretical analyses. However, the theory relies on population dynamics that have never been soundly demonstrated in nature. The hypothesis is that competition among individuals in a population is strongest among common phenotypes, weakest for rare phenotypes, so that the average individual does poorly while unusual individuals escape competition and do relatively well. The investigators will use observational surveys to test whether such disruptive selection occurs naturally in populations of freshwater stickleback fish. They will also conduct experimental population density manipulations to test whether competition is the underlying cause. This research will test the assumptions underlying recent advances in speciation theory. It is also relevant to understanding how individuals in a population subdivide their resources, which affects both population dynamics, and how an invading species adapts to a new environment.

Wainwright0105147同域物种形成，其中一个单一的人口经历了进化分裂成两个共同出现的物种，一直是争议的来源50年。许多生物学家认为，只有当种群在地理上被划分时，物种才会分裂。对同域物种形成的怀疑是由于理论上的批评和缺乏明确的例子。由于积累了经验实例和支持性理论分析，这个想法最近重新被接受。然而，该理论依赖于从未在自然界中得到充分证明的种群动态。该假说认为，种群中个体之间的竞争在常见的表型中最强，在罕见的表型中最弱，因此普通个体表现不佳，而不寻常的个体逃避竞争，表现相对较好。 研究人员将使用观察调查来测试这种破坏性选择是否会自然发生在淡水棘鱼种群中。他们还将进行实验性的人口密度操纵，以测试竞争是否是根本原因。这项研究将测试物种形成理论最新进展的假设。它也与理解种群中的个体如何细分其资源有关，这既影响种群动态，也影响入侵物种如何适应新环境。