The influence of gamete phenotype, gamete genotype and behavior on reproductive success in broadcast spawning invertebrates

通过繁殖成功的选择可以对性别二型性的性状和模式的进化产生重大影响。大多数研究都集中在对一种性别的选择比另一种性别更强烈的情况下。 一般来说，男性被认为是竞争配偶，而女性选择潜在的伴侣，导致男性生殖成功的高方差和女性生殖成功的低方差。 然而，以前的工作表明，在某些人口密度，男性和女性成功的差异可以在广播产卵海洋无脊椎动物高。 这个项目将解决的后果，这些模式的生殖力选择在这种原始的交配策略。 三种海胆将被用来解决如何产卵行为，人口密度，配子表型和基因型影响生殖成功。 微卫星标记将用于确定从实验室和田间实验产生的幼虫的亲子关系。 将评估配子识别蛋白和配子形态对生殖成功的相对贡献，并研究在存在和不存在配子竞争的情况下产卵行为的性别差异的后果。 这项研究将提供深入了解生殖力选择和性别冲突的解决方案在海洋中。更广泛的影响将包括培训众多的本科生、应届研究生和研究生助理。 该研究计划将被用作一种机制，在佛罗里达州立大学和班菲尔德海洋科学中心教授的本科和研究生课程中教授科学。

Selection via reproductive success can have a major influence on the evolution of traits and patterns of gender dimorphism. Most research has focused on scenarios in which selection is more intense for one gender than the other. Generally, males are thought to compete for mates while females choose among potential mates, resulting in high variance in male reproductive success and low variance in female reproductive success. However, previous work has shown that at some population densities, variance in both male and female success can be high in broadcast spawning marine invertebrates. This project will address the consequences of these patterns for fecundity selection in this primitive mating strategy. Three species of sea urchins will be used to address how spawning behavior, population density, and gamete phenotype and genotype influence reproductive success. Microsatellite markers will be used to establish maternity and paternity of larvae generated from laboratory and field experiments. The relative contributions of gamete recognition proteins and gamete morphology to reproductive success will be assessed, and the consequences of gender differences in spawning behavior in the presence and absence of gamete competition will be examined. This study will provide insight into the resolution of fecundity selection and gender conflict in the sea. Broader impacts will include the training of numerous undergraduate, recent graduate and graduate student assistants. The research program will be used as a mechanism to teach science in undergraduate and graduate courses taught at both at Florida State University and at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Center.