DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Bridging micro- and macroevolution in a top Neotropical predator

论文研究：新热带顶级捕食者的微观和宏观进化之间的桥梁

基本信息

批准号：
1501672
负责人：
Corrie Moreau
金额：
$ 1.72万
依托单位：
University of Chicago
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2015
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2015-06-01 至 2017-05-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1501672&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
DISSERTATION RESEARCH Bridging micro macroevolution

项目摘要

The large-scale, macroevolutionary patterns observed in the fossil record span millions of years, and the processes behind these patterns are responsible for generating the diversity in biological organisms that exist today. On the microevolutionary scale, examples of natural selection are common - both in nature and in laboratory experiments - and often can be observed over a few generations. A large advantage of working on the microevolutionary scale is the ability to manipulate organisms to understand the underlying mechanisms and processes behind observed patterns. However, extending the knowledge of microevolutionary processes to deeper time scales will be crucial to understanding the generation of biodiversity. Elucidating the contexts in which microevolutionary processes extend beyond short time scales aids both in advancing the clarity of evolutionary theory as well as strengthening application to broader non-scientific aims. Furthermore, understanding how complex traits are inherited across time scales and genetic diversity can have important impacts on biomedical and agricultural applications.Neotropical army ants are keystone predators of leaf litter communities with broad geographic ranges and diverse physical forms shaped by dietary ecology. This project leverages existing genomic data demonstrating the macroevolutionary pattern for Neotropical army ants to determine whether changes in physical form at intermediate time scales occur due to heritable and non-heritable variation in existing lineages. The project explores whether change in physical form at the macroevolutionary scale can be reduced to one of the most basic Darwinian microevolutionary processes - natural selection by heritable variation. The data to address these questions will be generated by measuring variation in genetics and physical form, and using a range of quantitative genetic, genomic, and morphometric analytical methods. This work will take place at the Field Museum of Natural History, an ideal location for public science education, community outreach, and mentorship.

在化石记录中观察到的大规模的宏观进化模式占数百万年的历史，这些模式背后的过程负责产生当今存在的生物生物的多样性。在微观进化的量表上，自然选择的例子很常见 - 在自然界和实验室实验中 - 通常可以在几代人中观察到。在微观进化量表上工作的很大优势是能够操纵生物体了解观察到的模式背后的基本机制和过程。但是，将小学进化过程的知识扩展到更深的时间尺度对于理解生物多样性的产生至关重要。阐明微观进化过程超出短时间量表的环境有助于提高进化论的清晰度，并加强对更广泛的非科学目标的应用。此外，了解如何在时间尺度上遗传复杂的特征和遗传多样性对生物医学和农业应用产生重要影响。自发军蚂蚁是叶窝社区的基石捕食者，具有广泛的地理位置范围，以及由饮食生态学塑造的各种物理形式。该项目利用现有的基因组数据，证明了新热带军蚂蚁的宏观进化模式，以确定是否由于现有谱系的可遗传性和非可容易变化而发生在中间时间尺度下的物理形式变化。该项目探讨了是否可以将宏观进化量表的物理形式变化减少为最基本的达尔文微观进化过程之一 - 通过可遗传的变化自然选择。解决这些问题的数据将通过测量遗传和物理形式的变化以及使用一系列定量遗传，基因组和形态计量学分析方法来产生。这项工作将在自然历史博物馆举行，这是公共科学教育，社区外展和指导的理想场所。