The role of sexual selection in facilitating rapid adaptation to climate change

气候变化可能是21世纪生物多样性面临的最大威胁。动物种群正在经历一个前所未有的环境变化时期，导致更高的灭绝率。了解是什么影响了种群应对和适应气候变化的能力，是生态学和进化生物学中最重要的问题之一。最近的研究表明，强烈的性选择可以增加种群的弹性并降低灭绝的风险。因此，性选择可能会提高种群科普气候变化的能力。然而，温度的变化也可能改变性选择的强度或方向，导致气候变化和性选择之间复杂的相互作用和反馈回路。为了解决我们知识中的这一空白，这个博士项目将研究气候变化如何影响性选择，以及性选择如何反过来影响人口适应变暖世界的能力。例如，温度的变化是否会导致雄性与雄性之间的竞争或雌性择偶的变化？这种行为变化对后代健康有什么影响？温度如何影响精子竞争？这个博士项目将使用埋葬甲虫Nicrophorus vespilloides作为模型系统。埋葬虫很容易保存在实验室里，并且非常适合实验操作。它们也有很短的世代时间和一套迷人的生殖行为。该物种在小型脊椎动物的尸体上繁殖，并且存在激烈的性内竞争以确保用于繁殖的尸体。雌性可以储存精子，并可能与多个雄性交配，因此存在精子竞争的空间。埋葬甲虫也表现出精心的双亲照顾，包括喂养和保护后代。

Climate change is arguably the most significant threat to biodiversity in the 21st century. Animal populations are experiencing a period of unprecedented environmental change, leading to higher extinction rates. Understanding what affects the capacity of populations to respond and adapt to climate change is now one of the most important issues in ecology and evolutionary biology. Recent studies have shown that strong sexual selection can increase population resilience and reduce the risk of extinction. Sexual selection may therefore improve a population's ability to cope with climate change. Yet, changes in temperature may also alter the strength or direction of sexual selection, leading to complex interactions and feedback loops between climate change and sexual selection.To address this gap in our knowledge, this PhD project will investigate how climate change can influence sexual selection and how sexual selection can in turn influence a population's capacity to adapt to a warming world. For example, do changes in temperature lead to changes in male-male competition or female mate choice? What are the consequences of such behavioural changes for offspring fitness? How does temperature affect sperm competition? This PhD project will use the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides as a model system. Burying beetles are easy to keep in the laboratory and are highly amenable to experimental manipulation. They also have a short generation time and a suite of fascinating reproductive behaviours. This species breeds on carcasses of small vertebrates, and there is fierce intrasexual competition to secure a carcass for breeding. Females can store sperm and may mate with multiple males, so there is scope for sperm competition. Burying beetles also exhibit elaborate biparental care, which includes feeding and defending the offspring.