DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Mechanisms that maintain behavior in the face of environmental change

人类活动正在以惊人的速度改变环境，这些变化会极大地影响动物和它们的行为。一个新兴的关注领域是内分泌干扰化合物（EDCs），这是一种合成或天然化合物，以各种方式渗透到栖息地，对有助于生存和繁殖的身体功能造成严重破坏。通常情况下，行为是接触EDC后首先发生变化的，但如果行为没有改变，这意味着什么呢？这通常被解释为EDCs对个体没有影响，但也有许多其他解释可以更好地理解动物是如何应对环境压力的。这项研究的目的是确定暴露于EDCs的动物是否通过改变激素产生的模式来维持其行为，以及动物用来抵消EDCs影响的措施对动物是有益还是有害。这个项目将包括一个教育计划，向高中生介绍快速变化的环境对生物的影响。它还将包括与当地一家非营利组织合作，建立“鱼类指南”，向公众介绍安全的捕鱼消费区域。技术段落：内分泌干扰化合物（EDCs）流入水生系统构成影响生理和行为的主要人为干扰。然而，有时，行为不会因EDC暴露而改变。我们目前还不了解在面对环境变化时与行为维护相关的成本。本项目利用一种新兴的脊椎动物模型——红树林河鱼（Kryptolebias marmoratus），探讨内分泌功能的变化如何促进EDCs暴露动物的行为维持，并改变行为之间的相关结构。行为相关结构是个体灵活性的重要指标，可以用来确定他们在短期和进化中对环境扰动的反应程度。研究人员将不同年龄和性别的个体暴露在两种主要EDCs（乙炔雌二醇和壬基酚）的生态相关浓度梯度中，测量了他们的行为，并收集了激素样本。行为分析表明，暴露后的平均行为没有变化，但行为之间的相关结构发生了变化。通过分析激素，研究人员将确定内分泌功能对EDC暴露后的单一行为和行为相关结构的影响程度。该方法为零结果的解释提供了新的视角，特别是对于寻求了解持续暴露于EDCs的个体的适合度影响的研究。它还将提供对生理系统如何构建行为表型的见解，并可能以影响个体适应性和选择机会的方式对其进行重组，以响应EDCs，从而推动行为进化。

Non-Technical Paragraph:Human activities are altering environments at an alarming rate, and these changes can dramatically affect animals and their behavior. An emerging area of concern is with endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), which are synthetic or natural compounds that infiltrate habitats in a variety of ways and wreak havoc on functions of the body that aid in survival and reproduction. Oftentimes, behavior is the first thing to change following EDC exposure, but what does it mean when behavior does not change? Frequently this is interpreted as EDCs not having an impact on the individual, but there are many alternative explanations that might provide a greater understanding of how animals cope with environmental stressors. The goal of this research is to determine if animals that are exposed to EDCs maintain their behavior by altering patterns of hormone production, and whether the measures that animals use to counteract the effects of EDCs might be beneficial or harmful to the animal. This project will include an education program to introduce high school students to the impacts of rapidly changing environments on organisms. It will also include outreach to the community by partnering with a local non-profit organization to create 'fish guides' to inform the public of safe areas to catch fish for consumption.Technical Paragraph:The influx of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) into aquatic systems constitutes a major anthropogenic disturbance that influences both physiology and behavior. Sometimes, however, behavior does not change in response to EDC exposure. We do not currently understand the costs associated with behavioral maintenance in the face of environmental change. This project uses an emerging vertebrate model, mangrove rivulus fish (Kryptolebias marmoratus), to explore how changes in endocrine function promote behavioral maintenance in animals exposed to EDCs and alter the correlation structure among behaviors. Behavioral correlation structures are important indicators of an individual's flexibility and can be used to determine how well they can respond to environmental perturbations, both in the short-term and evolutionarily. The researchers measured behavior and collected hormone samples after exposing individuals of different ages and sexes to a gradient of ecologically relevant concentrations of two major EDCs, ethinyl estradiol and nonylphenol. Behavior analysis indicated that there were no changes in average behaviors following exposure, but the correlation structure among behaviors changed. By assaying hormones, the researchers will determine the extent to which endocrine function impacts singular behaviors and the structure of behavioral correlations following EDC exposure. This approach forwards new perspectives on the interpretation of null results, especially for studies seeking to understand the fitness impacts on individuals persistently exposed to EDCs. It will also provide insights into how physiological systems structure the behavioral phenotype, and perhaps restructure it in response to EDCs in ways that impact individual fitness and opportunities for selection to drive behavioral evolution.