Symposium: The Evolution of Thermal Reaction Norms for Growth Rate and Body Size in Ectotherms

研讨会：变温动物的生长速度和体型的热反应规范的进化印第安纳州立大学近年来，进化生物学家的一个主要目标是了解环境的时空变化如何影响特征的进化。特别是，对环境温度和有机体体型之间关系的兴趣已经重新抬头。生物学家已经在变温动物中记录了一个普遍的趋势：一般来说，在寒冷环境中的个体在成年时的体型比在温暖环境中的个体大。在温度和体型之间这种广泛关系的基础上，是控制生长和成熟速度的行为和生理机制。最近的研究表明，这些机制可以随着热环境的变化而迅速进化。这些实证发现引发了理论家们的热潮，他们试图解释温度-尺寸关系的演变。然而，尽管人们对这一研究领域重新产生了兴趣，但实证和理论的努力在很大程度上仍然不同步。因此，进化论的解释仍然难以捉摸。这笔拨款将资助一个研讨会，联合研究人员调查温度、生长速度和体型之间关系的原因。研讨会的目标有三个：1)确定在不同的热环境中影响生长速度和体型进化的权衡和制约因素；2)确定在经过充分研究的物种中影响温度-体型关系的因素是否可以推广到其他物种；3)讨论如何将这些因素纳入现有的理论。通过这次研讨会，将建立一个新的范式来理解变化环境下的特征进化，并将建立不同学科研究人员之间的联系，以促进这一范式的发展。参与者包括理论家和经验主义者，他们采用不同的方法来研究不同生物的进化。此外，这些参与者包括一些最有前途的博士后研究员，以及进化生物学领域的知名领导者。鉴于专题讨论会的重点突出和与会者的多样性，专题讨论会应该激发关于反应规范演变的综合思想，这些思想可以迅速传播到整个科学界的相关分支。

Symposium: The Evolution of Thermal Reaction Norms forGrowth Rate and Body Size in EctothermsMichael J. Angilletta Jr. and Michael W. SearsIndiana State UniversityIn recent years, a major goal of evolutionary biologists has been to understand how spatial and temporal variation in the environment impacts the evolution of traits. In particular, a resurgence of interest in the relationship between environmental temperature and organismal body size has occurred. Biologists have documented a pervasive trend within ectotherms: in general, individuals in colder environments attain larger body sizes at adulthood than individuals in warmer environments. Underlying this widespread relationship between temperature and body size are behavioral and physiological mechanisms that govern the rates of growth and maturation. Recent studies have revealed that these mechanisms can evolve rapidly in response to variation in the thermal environment. These empirical findings have triggered a burst of activity by theorists who are trying to explain the evolution of temperature-size relationships. Yet, in spite of the renewed interest in this area of research, empirical and theoretical efforts are still largely unsynchronized. Consequently, evolutionary explanations remain elusive.This grant will fund a symposium that unites researchers investigating the causes of relationships among temperature, growth rate, and body size. The goals of the symposium are threefold: 1) to identify the tradeoffs and constraints that influence the evolution of growth rate and body size in different thermal environments, 2) to determine if the factors that influence temperature-size relationships in well-studied species can be generalized to other species, and 3) to discuss how these factors can be incorporated into existing theories. Through this symposium, a new paradigm for understanding the evolution of traits in variable environments will be developed, and links between researchers from different disciplines that are necessary to advance this paradigm will be established. The participants include theorists and empiricists who are taking different approaches to the study of evolution in diverse organisms. Moreover, these participants range from some of the most promising postdoctoral fellows to well-established leaders in the field of evolutionary biology. Given the sharp focus of the symposium and the diversity of participants, the symposium should spark a synthesis of ideas about the evolution of reactions norms that can diffuse rapidly throughout the relevant branches of the scientific community.