MCAA: Molecular Markers to Assess the Relative Importance of Sexual and Natural Selection in the Evolution of Paternal Care

MCAA：用于评估性选择和自然选择在父方胼胝体进化中相对重要性的分子标记。生活史特征可能受到自然选择和性选择的双重影响。 在有雄性父母照顾的系统中（例如鱼类和鸟类），雄性和雌性的利益可以通过自然选择和性选择来积累。 也就是说，护理可以提高后代的存活率或质量（即，通过自然选择），并且还增加了由于雌性对父亲投资的偏好而产生的配偶吸引力（即，性选择）。 事实上，可以想象，在某些情况下，照顾可能首先是为了应对性选择而不是自然选择。 如果是这样的话，那么父母的行为和交配偏好应该在一个性选择的过程中共同进化。 生活史理论关注自然选择的作用，因此，性选择的整合应该为生活史进化提供重要的新理解。 我的长期研究计划是发展和正式化这一假设，并启动一个项目来进行实验评估。这项工作是与赫尔辛基大学的Kai Lindstrom博士的国际合作的一部分，也是与佛罗里达国际大学的Joel Trexler博士的本地合作的一部分。 林德斯特罗姆博士和我最近认识到，佛罗里达旗鱼（Jordanella floridae）是一种理想的物种，可以用来探索父系照顾的进化以及自然选择和性选择的相对重要性，我们一直在共同努力，以实现这些想法。 Trexler博士参与了补充工作，重点是生活史变异和大沼泽地旗鱼种群的种群遗传结构。我们认识到，使用分子标记，特别是微卫星（DNA的短重复序列），将大大提高我们的研究计划。 事实上，这些标记的发展将使我们能够估计男性特征（照顾行为和第二性征）的遗传性，从而了解它们的进化潜力。 此外，我们可以利用这些标记来评估旗鱼种群的遗传结构。 这个职业发展计划的实质是训练我实验室的成员（我自己，一名技术人员，（本科生）分离和开发旗鱼可变微卫星标记，然后使用这些标记来估计雄性性状的遗传力，并确定这些标记也将在未来的种群遗传结构研究中发挥作用。这种培训不仅将提高资助的可能性但也将提高我未来的研究质量的自然和性选择在生命史的进化，使我能够使用新的方法。 丰富了这个新的工具，我的长期合作研究计划将提供父母照顾的分布和影响其演变的因素的新的理解。

MCAA: MOLECULAR MARKERS TO ASSESS THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF SEXUAL AND NATURAL SELECTION IN THE EVOLUTION OF PATERNAL CARECOLETTE M. ST. MARYLay SummaryLife-history traits are potentially under both natural and sexual selection. In systems with male parental care (exemplified by fishes and birds), benefits to males and females can accrue via both natural and sexual selection. That is, care can increase offspring survivorship or quality (i.e., via natural selection), and also increase mate attraction resulting from female preferences for paternal investment (i.e., via sexual selection). Indeed, it is conceivable that care may first evolve in response to sexual and not natural selection under some circumstances. If this is the case, then parental behavior and mating preferences should coevolve in a sexually selected process. Life history theory is focused on the role of natural selection and therefore, the integration of sexual selection should provide significant new understanding of life-history evolution. My long-term research plan is to develop and formalize this hypothesis and to initiate a program to evaluate it experimentally.This work is part of an international collaboration with Dr. Kai Lindstrom, University of Helsinki, and a local collaboration with Dr. Joel Trexler, Florida International University. Dr. Lindstrom and I have recently recognized the Florida flagfish, Jordanella floridae, as an ideal species in which to explore the evolution of paternal care and the relative importance of natural and sexual selection and have been working together to pursue these ideas. Dr. Trexler is involved in complementary work focused on life history variation and population genetic structure in Everglades populations of flagfish.We recognize that the use of molecular markers, microsatellites (short repeat sequences of DNA) in particular, will greatly enhance our research program. Indeed, the development of these markers will enable us to estimate the heritability of male traits (care behavior and secondary sexual characteristics), and therefore understand their potential to evolve. Furthermore, we can use these markers to evaluate the population genetic structure of flagfish. The essence of this career advancement proposal is to train members of my lab (myself, a technician, and an undergraduate) in the isolation and development of variable microsatellite markers for flagfish and then to use those markers to estimate the heritability of male traits and to ascertain that the markers will also be useful in future studies of population genetic structure.This training will not only improve the probability of funding in the near term but will also enhance the quality of my future studies of natural and sexual selection in the evolution of life history by enabling me to use new approaches. Enriched with this new tool, my long-term, collaborative research program will provide new understanding of the distribution of parental care and the factors influencing its evolution.