Adaptive Evolution of Stress Coping Style in Guppies

孔雀鱼压力应对方式的适应性进化

• 批准号: 2237915
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2237915
• 关键词: Adaptive; Evolution; Stress; Coping; Style

Context: Stress responses allow animals to maintain homeostasis, health and fitness when challenged by adverse environmental conditions. Although we know a lot about some of the specific pathways involved, we know less about how they operate together. For instance, when challenged by an acute threat in the environment - perhaps a predator - neuroendocrine pathways trigger both behavioural (e.g. fight or flight behaviours) and longer-term hormonal responses (e.g. increases in circulating cortisol). Although these pathways need to be coordinated to maintain fitness, different trait combinations may be optimal depending on the challenges faced. This idea leads to the prediction that behavioural and endocrine components of stress response should co-evolve, a hypothesis that can be tested by looking at the genetic basis of phenotypic differentiation among populations experiencing different stress environments. Specific background: This project will explore evolution across populations of the Trinidadian guppy that have evolved under very different predation - and so stress - regimes. It will be primarily lab-based, focusing on 12 colonies of fish currently housed in the Penryn aquatic facility that are derived wild parents collected in 2017. From previous work we know that individuals within a population differ in stress response 'coping style' and that that genetic differences among individuals are an important source of behavioural and physiological variation. This variation sets the stage for evolution by natural selection to proceed and generate adaptive phenotypic divergence among populations. Aims: Using a combination of behavioural and breeding experiments, endocrinology and genetic analyses (including both quantitative genetic and genomic approaches) the project will test 4 hypotheses:1) That populations show genetic divergence in behaviours and endocrine traits 2) That behaviour and endocrine function have co-evolved3) That divergence is adaptive and cannot be explained by neutral population genetic processes alone (drift, contemporary gene flow)4) That predation regime is a specific driver of adaptive divergence in stress response.These objectives are firmly rooted in evolutionary biology and the successful applicant will have a strong interest in genetics. Training in skills needed for quantitative and population genetics/genomic analyses will be provided. However, the project also contains a large behavioural component and thus a strong interest in this area, coupled to a desire to work with animals, is also essential.

背景：压力反应使动物在受到不利环境条件的挑战时保持体内平衡，健康和健身。虽然我们对其中一些特定的途径了解很多，但对它们如何共同运作却知之甚少。例如，当受到环境中的严重威胁-可能是捕食者-的挑战时，神经内分泌途径会触发行为反应（如战斗或逃跑行为）和长期激素反应（如循环皮质醇增加）。虽然这些途径需要协调以保持适应性，但根据所面临的挑战，不同的性状组合可能是最佳的。这一想法导致的预测，行为和内分泌成分的压力反应应该共同发展，一个假设，可以通过观察在经历不同的压力环境的人群之间的表型分化的遗传基础进行测试。具体背景：这个项目将探索特立尼达孔雀鱼种群的进化，它们在非常不同的捕食和压力下进化。它将主要以实验室为基础，重点是目前安置在Penryn水产设施中的12个鱼类群体，这些鱼类是2017年收集的野生亲本。从以前的工作中，我们知道，人口中的个人不同的压力反应的“应对方式”，个体之间的遗传差异是行为和生理变异的一个重要来源。这种变异为自然选择的进化奠定了基础，从而在种群之间产生适应性的表型分化。目的：结合行为和繁殖实验、内分泌学和遗传分析（包括定量遗传和基因组方法）该项目将测试4个假设：1）种群在行为和内分泌性状上表现出遗传差异2）行为和内分泌功能共同进化3）这种差异是适应性的，不能仅用中性种群遗传过程来解释（漂移，当代基因流）4）这种捕食机制是压力反应适应性差异的一个特定驱动因素。这些目标牢固地植根于进化生物学，成功的申请人将对遗传学有浓厚的兴趣。将提供定量和群体遗传学/基因组分析所需技能的培训。然而，该项目还包含一个很大的行为组成部分，因此对这一领域的浓厚兴趣，加上与动物一起工作的愿望，也是必不可少的。