Dissertation Research: Interactions Between Primary and Secondary Sexual Characters in the Tortoise Beetle Acromis sparsa

这个项目需要一个研究和教育项目，重点关注动物不同类型的夸张形态的发展和进化。在雄性昆虫中，外骨骼武器影响它们获得配偶的能力，而生殖器影响它们成功使这些获得的配偶受精的能力。迄今为止，男性武器和生殖器是分开研究的。然而，这种方法可能是不够的，因为武器和生殖器可能相互作用，共同影响男性生殖成功。该项目的目标是整合发展，行为和进化领域，以揭示这些不同形态之间相互作用的本质，并确定影响整个生物体繁殖成功的综合因素。这一目标将通过一系列的实验来解决，这些实验确定武器和生殖器在雄角甲繁殖成功中的相对重要性。更广泛的影响：本研究还将训练本科生昆虫行为和实验设计。学生将被鼓励提出自己的问题并完成自己的研究出版物。最后，本研究将透过对生态旅游导游和高中生等团体的讲座，向非学术团体传播。

This project entails a program of research and education that focuses on the development and evolution of different types of exaggerated morphologies in animals. In male insects, exoskeletal weapons influence their ability to acquire mates, whereas genitalia influence their ability to successfully fertilize these acquired mates. To date, male weapons and genitalia have been studied separately. However, this approach may be inadequate because weapons and genitalia are likely to interact, and jointly affect male reproductive success. The goal of this project is to integrate the fields of development, behavior and evolution to reveal the nature of the interactions between these different morphologies and to determine the combined factors that affect reproductive success on whole organisms. This objective will be addressed with a series of experiments that determine the relative importance of weapons and genitalia in the reproductive success of males of the beetle Acromis sparsa. Broader Impacts: This study will also train undergraduate students in insect behavior and experimental design. Students will be encouraged to develop their own questions and complete their own research publications. Finally, this research will be disseminated to non-academic communities through lectures for groups such as eco-tourism guides and high school students.