DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Selection and Signal Evolution: Diversification of Peacock Spiders (genus: Maratus)

这个项目研究孔雀蜘蛛的色觉，孔雀蜘蛛是被描述的颜色最明显的动物之一。这一群体的雄性在腹部扇形上表现出复杂的彩色图案，数据表明，这些彩色斑块是雌性用来做出交配决定的。孔雀蜘蛛和一般的跳蛛都有一些最独特的视觉系统。然而，对于这些蜘蛛和许多其他动物来说，一个长期存在的问题尚未得到解答，那就是雌性蜘蛛是如何评估颜色的。该项目的总体目标将是测试物种之间视觉系统特征的差异与整个群体中看到的颜色多样性和求爱表现有关的假设。深入研究这些动物的视觉特性将增强我们对该系统中已经收集到的行为和生态数据的解释，告知我们对感觉系统局限性的理解，并为未来研究这种具有魅力的蜘蛛群以及其他动物的感觉生态学提供必要的基础。所有的结果和发现将通过在同行评审的期刊上发表、参加专业会议和在线数据库，广泛地提供给各种各样的受众。此外，研究人员在所有年龄段的学生中都有很强的推广和教育承诺。在动物王国中，Salticids拥有最独特的视觉系统之一，通过它们独特的眼睛排列，很容易与它们的亲戚区分开来。特别是，他们的前正中眼（AME）扩大，并包含分层视网膜。关于分层视网膜功能的主要假设是，每一层表达不同的光感受器，具有不同的吸收光谱，然而，这只在单一物种中进行了测试。这意味着，之前关于盐碱视觉显示的研究只能假设雌性在评估潜在伴侣时能够感知到什么。Maratus属的Salticids是异常的两性二态性，不仅在外表上，而且在信号环境中，雄性行为与雌性行为也大相径庭。因此，该研究旨在测试Maratus是否存在色觉，基于不同视蛋白基因的存在，和/或光学和视网膜特征。此外，我们将研究这些特性的变化是否驱动了信号进化和/或物种多样性。具体来说，我们将识别Maratus视蛋白基因和任何视网膜前过滤，以及测量视网膜中光感受器的峰值灵敏度和相对丰度。这些目标将通过使用生物信息学和显微分光光度法（MSP）方法来实现。我们期望对视觉系统进化的成功评估将为跳跃蜘蛛（一种特殊但尚未得到充分研究的微型动物）以及其他动物群体的感官进化工作提供重大突破。

This project examines color vision in peacock spiders, which are some of the most conspicuously colored animals described. Males of this group exhibit complex color patterns on abdominal fans and data suggest that these colored patches are used by females to make mating decisions. Peacock spiders, and jumping spiders in general, have some of the most unique visual systems described. However, a long-standing question that has yet to be answered for these spiders, as well as many other animals, is how do females evaluate color. The overall goal of the project will be to test the hypotheses that differences in visual system features between species are related to the diversity of colors and courtship displays seen across this group. An in-depth look at the visual properties of these animals will enhance our interpretation of behavioral and ecological data already collected in this system, inform our understanding about sensory system limitations as well as provide the necessary groundwork for future research on the sensory ecology of this charismatic spider group as well as other animals. All of the results and findings will be widely available to a variety of audiences through publication in peer-reviewed journals, participation in professional conferences, and online databases. In addition, the researchers have a strong commitment to outreach and education among students of all ages.Salticids have one of the most unique visual systems in the animal kingdom, and are easily distinguished from their relatives by their distinctive eye arrangement. In particular, their anterior median eyes (AME) are enlarged, and contain tiered retinae. The leading hypothesis about the function of tiered retinae is that each layer expresses a different photoreceptor with distinct absorption spectra, however, this has only been tested for a single species. This means that previous research on salticid visual displays has only been able to make assumptions about what females are able to perceive when evaluating potential mates. Salticids of the Maratus genus are exceptionally sexually dimorphic, not only in their appearance, but also, male behavior wildly deviates from that of females in a signaling context. Thus, the proposed research is designed test if color vision exists for Maratus, based on the presence of different opsin genes, and/or optical and retinal characteristics. Furthermore, we will investigate whether variation in these properties has driven signal evolution and/or species diversity. Specifically, we will identify Maratus opsin genes and any pre-retinal filtering in the eye, as well as measure peak sensitivities and relative abundance of photoreceptors in the retina. These objectives will be accomplished through the use of bioinformatics and microspectrophotometry (MSP) methods. We expect that a successful evaluation of visual system evolution will present a major breakthrough for enabling future work on sensory evolution in jumping spiders, an exceptional yet understudied micro-fauna, as well as other animal groups.