Collaborative Research: Architectural Effects and the Analysis of Sexual Size Dimorphism

1888年，查尔斯·达尔文发表了《同一物种植物上的花的不同形式》。达尔文描述了许多植物物种，在这些物种中，形态不同的花朵在同一个体上或在种群中的不同个体上产生，并推测了这种花的二态性是如何进化的。自达尔文时代以来，人们提出并探索了其他假说，其中大多数集中在不同花类型的生殖功能的对比上。这项研究提出了一个新的假设，即花朵形式的差异可能是由于发育时间的差异和花朵在生物体三维结构中的位置不同。这项研究通过将植物发育的独特方面纳入进化假设，为进化发育生物学的新兴领域做出了贡献。此外，该项目将研究与教学、培训和学习相结合。来自两所学习环境截然不同的机构（小型文理学院阿默斯特学院和大型研究型机构科罗拉多大学）的不同教育阶段（研究生和本科生）的学生将参与这个合作项目。每位学生将接受形态学和比较进化分析方面的培训，并将有机会与不同的分类群一起工作。本科生也将有机会在替代机构度过一个夏天，并与两位pi一起工作。

In 1888, Charles Darwin published "The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species". Darwin described many plant species in which morphologically distinct flowers were born on the same individual or on different individuals within populations, and speculated about how such floral dimorphisms evolved. Since Darwin's time, additional hypotheses have been proposed and explored, the majority of which focus on the contrasting reproductive functions of the different floral types. This research addresses a new hypothesis, that divergence in flower form can be due to differences in the timing of development and to the position of flowers within the three-dimensional structure of the organism. This research contributes to the nascent field of evolutionary developmental biology by incorporating unique aspects of plant development into evolutionary hypotheses. In addition, this project will integrate research with teaching, training and learning. Students at different stages of their education (graduate and undergraduate) from two institutions that differ dramatically in learning environment (Amherst College, a small liberal arts college and University of Colorado, a large research I institution) will participate in this collaborative project. Each student will receive training in morphological and comparative evolutionary analyses and will have the opportunity to work with diverse taxa. Undergraduates will also have the opportunity to spend one summer at the alternate institution and to work with both PIs.