Doctoral Dissertation: The Influence of Selection and Gene Flow on Geographic Variation in Antipredator Behavior

名称：Gordon M.Burghardt/John S.Placyk，Jr.标题：选择和基因流动对反捕食者行为的地理差异的影响生活在不同地区或栖息地的动物在其身体和行为特征上遇到不同的选择压力。对这种地理变异的研究必须同时包含遗传和历史信息，才能提供最多的信息。在这项研究中，反捕食者行为的地理变化将在生活在具有良好记录的地质史的岛屿系统中的普通绞股蛇(Thamnopits Sirtalis)中进行考察。来自几个岛屿和大陆种群的成年蛇和新生蛇将检验捕食者压力和各种遗传特征对行为地理差异的影响，测试一系列假设，将反捕食者行为的差异与捕食压力联系起来。到目前为止收集的数据表明，捕食者的压力和防御行为在这些种群中都不同。由于每个岛屿的年龄都是已知的，因此将使用遗传分化的分子标记以及测量遗传历史和捕食对蛇行为反应的相对影响来重建岛蛇的历史。这项研究将是少数几项将复杂行为和遗传学的自然差异数据结合在一起的研究之一，将提供有关种内行为差异和保护生物学需求的迫切需要的信息。此外，这项研究利用了几所大学的本科生，并提供行为和分子生物学方面的培训。

Name: Gordon M. Burghardt / John S. Placyk, Jr.Title: The influence of selection and gene flow on geographic variation in antipredator behaviorAnimals living in different areas or habitats encounter different selection pressures on their physical and behavioral traits. Studies of such geographic variation must incorporate both genetic and historical information to be most informative. In this study, geographic variation in antipredator behavior will be examined in common gartersnakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) living in an island system with a well-documented geological history. The influence of predator pressures and various genetic characteristics on geographic variation in behavior will be examined in adult and neonatal snakes from several island and mainland populations, testing a series of hypotheses relating the differences in antipredator behaviors to predation pressures. Data collected to date indicate that both predator pressures and defensive behavior differ among these populations. Since the age of each island is known, the history of the island snakes will be reconstructed using molecular markers of genetic differentiation and measurements of the relative effects of genetic history and predation on the behavioral responses of the snakes. This study will be one of few that combines data on natural differences in complex behavior and genetics, providing much needed information on the divergence of behavior at the intraspecific level and the needs of conservation biology. In addition, this research utilizes undergraduates from several universities and provides training in behavioral and molecular biology.