DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The evolution of complexity: tests of the ecological drivers of eye size evolution in Trinidadian killifish (Rivulus hartii)

论文研究：复杂性的进化：特立尼达鳉鱼（Rivulus hartii）眼睛大小进化的生态驱动因素测试

• 批准号: 1701416
• 负责人: Matthew Walsh
• 金额: $ 1.96万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Arlington
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-06-01 至 2019-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1701416&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; evolution; complexity; tests

Understanding the evolution of complex organs, such as the eye, is a long-standing goal in evolutionary biology. The intricate structure of the eye is frequently presented as an example that challenges our understanding of evolution by natural selection. Eye size and structure vary tremendously across species and it has been hypothesized that this variation is the result of contrasting ecological pressures, such as differing light levels in different environments. This project's researchers recently showed that predation is associated with evolutionary changes in in the eye size of a killifish on the island of Trinidad. This proposal will build upon this previous research to understand how and why predators select for shifts in eye size. Such work will enhance comprehension of the conditions that favor the evolution of complex traits such as the vertebrate eye. This research will be incorporated into educational modules that will be presented at outreach events to further enhance the public's understanding of evolution by natural selection.Eye size is positively correlated with the visual capacity of an organism. In turn, vision is closely linked to behaviors that directly and indirectly influence fitness. This connection between variation in eye size and visual aptitude, behavior, and fitness provides the raw materials for divergent ecological conditions to drive evolutionary shifts in eye size. Trinidadian killifish (Rivulus hartii) are found in fish communities on the island of Trinidad that vary in predation intensity. Increased predation is associated with genetically based declines in eye size. This work established a clear link between an ecological selective force and evolutionary shifts in eye size, but it does not establish causation, nor does it explain why predators select for a smaller eye size. This project will leverage a multifaceted approach that includes comparative mark recapture experiments and perturbation experiments in the lab and nature to: (1) quantify how selection operates on eye size in nature, and (2) experimentally test the influence of predators on eye size evolution.

了解复杂器官的演变，例如眼睛，是进化生物学的长期目标。经常以眼睛的复杂结构为例，挑战我们通过自然选择对进化的理解。眼睛的大小和结构各不相同，并且已经假设这种变化是对比鲜明的生态压力的结果，例如不同环境中的光水平不同。该项目的研究人员最近表明，捕食与特立尼达岛上杀伤力的眼睛大小的进化变化有关。该提案将基于先前的研究，以了解掠食者如何以及为什么选择眼睛大小的转变。这样的工作将增强对有利于复杂性状（例如脊椎动物眼）演变的条件的理解。这项研究将纳入教育模块中，这些模块将在外展活动中提出，以进一步增强公众对自然选择的进化的理解。眼睛的大小与有机体的视觉能力呈正相关。反过来，视力与直接和间接影响健身的行为紧密相关。眼睛大小和视觉能力，行为和健身的变化之间的这种联系为分歧生态条件提供了原材料，以驱动眼睛大小的进化变化。特立尼达杀戮（Rivulus hartii）在特立尼达岛上的鱼类群落中发现，捕食强度各不相同。增加的捕食与基于遗传的眼睛大小的下降有关。这项工作建立了生态选择性力量和眼睛大小的进化变化之间的明确联系，但没有建立因果关系，也不能解释为什么掠食者选择较小的眼睛尺寸。该项目将利用一种多面方法，其中包括比较标记重新捕获实验和实验室中的扰动实验，以：（1）量化选择在自然界中的眼睛大小，以及（2）实验测试捕食者对眼睛尺寸进化的影响。

项目成果

Natural selection favours a larger eye in response to increased competition in natural populations of a vertebrate

• DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13334
• 发表时间: 2019-07-01
• 期刊: FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
• 影响因子: 5.2
• 作者: Beston, Shannon M.;Walsh, Matthew R.
• 通讯作者: Walsh, Matthew R.