The Genetic Basis of Boldness in Stickleback Fish

描述（由申请人提供）：许多动物，包括人类，表现出一系列行为特征，这些特征可以沿着“害羞-大胆”的人格连续体来表征。行为特征，如愿意探索新的食物来源，在配偶收购的侵略性，并从压力的经验恢复的潜伏期往往是相关的沿着连续。害羞的行为可以在群体中的个体内部和个体之间以及群体之间发生变化。这种变异可能受遗传控制，但也可能受到当前环境因素、年龄或早期发育经验的显著影响。三刺棘鱼Gasterosteus aculeatus是行为和进化基因组学研究的模型系统，特别适合研究导致害羞大胆性格类型变异的遗传和生理过程。实验将用于确定不同环境下的棘鱼如何应对压力（捕食者遭遇）。来自没有捕食性鱼类的种群的棘鱼预计会比来自有捕食性鱼类的种群的棘鱼更大胆。对实验室饲养的棘鱼进行的实验将确定遗传和/或内分泌差异是否可以解释害羞大胆行为的自然变化。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Many animals, including humans, exhibit sets of behavioral traits that can be characterized along a "shy- bold" personality continuum. Behavioral traits such as willingness to explore new food sources, aggression in mate-acquisition, and latency to recover from stressful experiences are often correlated along the continuum. Shy-bold behavior can vary both within and among individuals in a population, and among populations. This variation can be under genetic control, but can also be significantly influenced by current environmental factors, age, or early developmental experience. The three-spine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, is a model system for both the study of behavior and evolutionary genomics, making it particularly suitable for examining the genetic and physiological processes that lead to variation in shy-bold personality types. Experiments will be used to determine how stickleback from different environments respond to stress (predator encounters). Stickleback from populations without predatory fish are expected to be bolder than stickleback from populations with predatory fish. Experiments with laboratory-reared stickleback will determine if genetic and/or endocrine differences explain natural variation in shy-bold behavior.