Genetic and Demographic Approaches to Life History Evolution in a Wild Lemur Population

了解影响生命史特征变化的生态和遗传因素是生命史研究的核心挑战。这一挑战在按年龄和性别构成的人口中尤为严重。尽管许多研究从生命史的角度接受了他们的理论基础，但只有少数实证研究表明生命史特征是如何被生物和非生物因素塑造的，以及这些特征如何反过来影响人口增长和进化动态。目前，对形成种群内生活史时间表的近似机制的见解来自少数具有相对“快速”生活史时间表的易于操纵和/或圈养的生物。对于长寿、性成熟缓慢的物种，如大多数灵长类动物，人们对哪些生活史特征是健康的关键决定因素的理解仍然很差。本课题的研究目的是：(1)研究慢生活史物种的生活史性状如何受到遗传、性别和生态因素的影响；(2)确定哪些生活史特征目前正在被选择；(3)确定这些生活史性状的表型变异/共变模式(4)确定这些生活史性状的加性遗传、环境、母系和队列变异/共变模式。这个项目的数据来自于一个持续监测的野生狐猴种群——狐猴狐猴。分子、人口统计学和定量遗传技术将被用来描述形成生活史性状变异和共变的生态和遗传因素。这个项目产生的结果将有助于发展人口模型，这些模型能够结合有关的生态和遗传数据对人口持续性作出现实的预测。该项目的结果还将用于确定哪些人口特征影响人口增长，从而为保护决策和管理战略提供信息。因此，该提案的结果将对保护生物学具有理论和应用意义。马达加斯加公民将接受捕获方法方面的培训，项目成果将纳入波士顿大学的学术课程。

Understanding the ecological and genetic factors that shape variation in life history traits is a central challenge in life history studies. This challenge is particularly acute in populations structured by age and sex. Although numerous studies receive their theoretical rationale from a life history perspective, only a few empirical studies show how life history traits are shaped by biotic and abiotic factors, and how these traits, in turn, affect population growth and evolutionary dynamics. At present, insights into the proximate mechanisms that shape life history schedules within populations come from a handful of easily manipulated and/or captive organisms that have relatively "fast" life history schedules. Understanding of which life history traits are key determinants of fitness remains poorly characterized for long-lived, slowly sexually maturing species such as most primates. The research aims of this proposal are: (1) To determine how life history traits are influenced by genetic, sex-specific, and ecological factors in a species with a slow life history schedule; (2) To determine which of these life history traits are currently under selection; (3) To determine patterns of phenotypic variation/covariation in these life history traits (4) To determine patterns of additive genetic, environmental, maternal, and cohort variation/covariation in these life history traits.The data for this project come from a continuously monitored population of wild lemur, Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi). Molecular, demographic, and quantitative genetic techniques will be employed to characterize the ecological and genetic factors that shape variation and covariation in life history traits. Results generated from this project will contribute to the development of demographic models that are capable of making realistic projections of population persistence by incorporating relevant ecological and genetic data. Results from this project will also be used to inform conservation decisions and management strategies by ascertaining which demographic traits influence population growth. As such, results from this proposal will have both theoretical and applied implications for conservation biology. Madagascar citizens will be trained in capture methods, and project results will be incorporated into the academic curriculum at Boston University.