DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The evolution of the locomotor system in Phrynosomatid lizards

理解形态适应是进化生物学的一个基本目标。然而，这一目标是具有挑战性的，因为大多数特征是由许多组件组成的，并且通常不清楚这些组件如何单独和共同地对性能做出贡献。例如，在运动中，多个肌肉和骨骼元素有助于运动。这项研究将使用形态和性能测量，系统方法和进化建模来确定运动系统的每个组成部分如何进化，以及它们如何在功能上集成，以产生适应特定生活方式的运动系统。沙漠蜥蜴是研究这个问题的理想系统，因为它们在生态学上差异很大，这似乎选择了不同的运动能力。这项工作将进一步我们的知识的基本规则的设计陆地运动系统。这项研究将是综合性的，汇集功能形态学，生态生理学和进化建模。此外，这将是第一次应用系统方法来研究整个动物的功能，以确定系统内的适应发生在哪里，所涉及的复杂程度，并帮助确定解释形态多样性的关键特征和选择压力，这是一个对保护很重要的概念。

Understanding morphological adaptation is a fundamental goal of evolutionary biology. However, this goal is challenging because most traits are composed of many components, and it is often unclear how these components individually, and collectively, contribute to performance. For example, in locomotion, multiple muscles and skeletal elements contribute to movement. This study will use morphological and performance measurements, a systems approach, and evolutionary modeling to identify how each component of the locomotor system evolves and how they are functionally integrated to produce locomotor systems adapted for specific lifestyles. Desert lizards are an ideal system to study this question because they vary widely in ecology, which appears to have selected for different locomotor capabilities. This work will further our knowledge of the fundamental rules governing the design of terrestrial locomotor systems. This study will be synthetic, bringing together functional morphology, ecological physiology, and evolutionary modeling. Furthermore, it will be the first application of a systems-approach to whole animal function in order to identify where within the system adaptation occurs, the degree of complexity involved, and help identify key features and selective pressures that explain morphological diversity, a concept important for conservation.