DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Behavioral, Genetic, and Ecological Dynamics of a Woodrat (Neotoma lepida) Hybrid Zone in California

杂交区是研究各种进化机制的独特场所。拟议的项目旨在通过整合遗传、环境和行为成分来研究最近描述的沙漠林木两个亚种之间的杂交区，从而建立在杂交区研究的传统方法基础上。该项目将使用遗传数据量化杂交的频率，将确定雌性交配偏好如何影响杂交后代的产生，将确定栖息地变化是否与杂交有关，并将比较杂交和非杂交个体的存活率和繁殖成功。本科生和高中生都将协助收集田野和实验室数据，包括农村和当地的美洲原住民学生，他们是家庭中第一批上大学的成员。

Hybrid zones are unique arenas in which to study a variety of evolutionary mechanisms. The proposed project aims to build on traditional methods of hybrid zone research by integrating genetic, environmental, and behavioral components to study a recently described hybrid zone between two subspecies of the Desert Woodrat, Neotoma lepida. The project will quantify the frequency of hybridization using genetic data, will determine how female mating preferences influence the production of hybrid offspring, will establish whether habitat variation is associated with hybridization, and will compare survivorship and reproductive success between hybrid and non-hybrid individuals. Both undergraduate and advanced high school students will assist in field and laboratory data collection, including rural and local Native American students who are the first members of their families to attend college.