DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Evolutionary consequences of behavioral drive and inhibition in a tropical lizard

行为决定了生物体如何与环境相互作用，长期以来一直被认为是进化多样化的起搏器。传统观点认为，行为通过将生物体暴露于新的选择压力来驱动进化。行为也可以抑制进化的变化。什么？行为抑制这一假说认为，某些行为，如体温调节，有助于生物体维持一个恒定的选择性环境，即使面对不断变化的环境，也无需适应。这项研究测试的想法，一个单一的行为（栖息使用）可以同时阻碍生理进化，而推动形态进化的Anolis cybotes。该物种在不同的热环境中被发现，因此研究人员预计它将使用行为来保持恒定的体温。研究人员正在使用一个重复实验来验证这一假设，比较A。多米尼加共和国的cybotes。这项研究是第一个实证检验的想法，行为可以同时阻碍和推动不同性状的进化。这项研究将提供一个很好的例子，在行动中的进化。这项研究将有助于表明，虽然自然选择驱动进化，但行为介导了选择性环境。作者将把这项研究的结果传播到流行的科学文章、公共讲座、科学博客和博物馆展览中。这项研究的结果将有助于告知政策制定者和保护主义者物种如何调解热环境，并根据气候变化使用这些数据来保护物种及其环境。

Behavior determines how organisms interact with their environment, and has long been posited as a pacemaker for evolutionary diversification. The classical view is that behavior drives evolution by exposing organisms to new selective pressures. Behavior can also restrain evolutionary change. The ?behavioral inhibition? hypothesis suggests that some behaviors, such as thermoregulation, helps organisms maintain a constant selective environment, obviating the need to adapt even in the face of changing environments. This research tests the idea that a single behavior (perch use) can simultaneously impede physiological evolution while impelling morphological evolution in Anolis cybotes. This species is found in different thermal environments, so the researchers expect that it will use behavior to maintain a constant body temperature. The researchers are using a replicated experiment to test this hypothesis, comparing habitat use, physiological, and morphological characteristics of A. cybotes in the Dominican Republic.This research is the first empirical test of the idea that behavior can simultaneously impede and impel evolution in different traits. This study will provide an excellent example of evolution in action. The research will help show that, while natural selection drives evolution, it is behavior that mediates the selective environment. The authors will disseminate the results of this study to popular scientific articles, public lectures, scientific blogs, and museum exhibits. The results of this study will help inform policy makers and conservationists how species can mediate the thermal environment, and use these data in the light of climate change to protect species and their environments.