Adaptive mate choice driven by sexual conflict in the brown anole, Anolis sagrei

生物多样性产生的关键途径之一是通过获得配偶成功的差异。雌性通常控制交配的机会，只选择与表现出精致特征的雄性交配。性选择仍然是一个有争议的话题，部分原因是很难理解不同环境下配偶选择的差异。这一提议探讨了驱动加勒比海Anolis蜥蜴适应性配偶选择的生态因素，这一群体以其体型的巨大变化而闻名。对一个物种进行的实验室和野外实验将对比自然选择和性选择在塑造配偶选择和雄性体型方面的作用，这一特征对雄性和雌性的成功有不同的影响。本研究旨在促进初高中学生、研究生和博士后在野外和实验室的科学训练。将招收来自代表性不足群体的学生。在这一年里，高中生将把他们在研究和课程中所学到的知识应用到巴哈马的中学生身上，让他们了解当地的环境。岛屿学校的学生将在当地社区外展博览会上展示数据，并参加由政府官员、科学家、保护团体和当地人参加的研究研讨会。资助人员每学期将为六名岛屿学校学生担任导师，并监督为本提案的研究目标提供支持的研究。

One of the key ways that biological diversity arises is through variation in success at obtaining mates. Females often control access to mating and choose only to mate with males that display elaborate traits. Sexual selection remains a controversial topic, due in part to the difficulty of understanding how mate choice varies across environments. This proposal explores ecological factors that drive adaptive mate choice in Caribbean Anolis lizards, a group noted for its great variation in body size. Laboratory and field experiments on one species will contrast the roles of natural selection and sexual selection in shaping both mate choice and male body size, a trait that has different effects on the success of males and females. The study is designed to advance science training of middle and high school students, graduate students, and a post-doctoral researcher, in both the field and laboratory. Students from under-represented groups will be recruited. During the year, high-school students will apply what they learn in their research and coursework to teach middle-school students in the Bahamas about their local environments. Island School students will present data at a local community outreach fair and participate in a research symposium attended by government officials, scientists, conservation groups, and locals. Grant personnel will serve as mentors to six Island School students per semester and supervise studies that feed into the research goals of this proposal.