Collaborative Research: RUI: Evaluating Form-Function-Fitness Relationships in Polyphenic Bluegill

运动和进食是大多数动物生存和繁殖的基本行为。然而，很少有人知道为什么一个种群中的一些个体比其他个体表现更好，更适合他们的栖息地。蓝鳃太阳鱼的种群通常根据其栖息地分为两种不同的身体形式：身体较深的浅水形式或流线型的深水形式。这种变异为研究形态、功能和对生境的适应之间的关系创造了一个理想的系统。该项目将整合行为的领域，外部和内部形态和肌肉生理学，能量代谢，游泳性能，摄食力学和健身测量的研究，以量化的变化，在一个单一的群体内的蓝鳃鱼从远洋和沿岸的栖息地的游泳和摄食性能。这项研究的结果将提供前所未有的深入了解鱼类的体型，游泳和摄食性能和健身的复杂相互关系。此外，这项研究将提供一个实验和分析框架，可以应用于任何动物系统。该提案是三所文科院校之间的一项合作努力，因此，该项目的一个重要组成部分将是指导一名博士后研究员和培训本科生，其中很大一部分将继续在研究生院或专业学校接受教育，增加代表性不足的群体对科学的参与。这项研究将在一个外展计划中实施，旨在向邻近学校代表性不足的K-12学生介绍生物力学和生理学的基本概念。

Locomotion and feeding are essential behaviors for the survival and reproductive fitness of most animals. However, little is understood about why some individuals within a population outperform others and are better suited to their habitat. Populations of bluegill sunfish often diverge into two different body forms based on their habitat: a deeper-bodied shallow water form or a streamlined deep water form. This variation creates an ideal system for investigating the relationships between form, function and adaptation to habitat. This project will integrate studies of behavior in the field, external and internal morphology and muscle physiology, energy metabolism, swimming performance, feeding mechanics and fitness measurements in order to quantify variation in swimming and feeding performance within a single population of bluegill from pelagic and littoral habitats. Results from this research will provide unprecedented insight into the complex interrelationships of body form, swimming and feeding performance and fitness in fish. Moreover, this research will provide an experimental and analytical framework that could be applied to any animal system. This proposal is a collaborative effort among three liberal arts institutions, therefore an important component of the project will be the mentoring of a postdoctoral researcher and the training of undergraduates, a high proportion of whom will continue their education in graduate or professional schools, increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in the sciences. The research will be implemented in an outreach program aimed to introduce basic concepts of biomechanics and physiology to underrepresented K-12 students at neighboring schools.