The Genetic Basis of Boldness in Stickleback Fish

描述（由申请人提供）：许多动物，包括人类，都表现出一系列的行为特征，这些特征可以被描述为“害羞-大胆”的性格连续体。行为特征，如探索新食物来源的意愿，获得配偶的攻击性，以及从压力经历中恢复的延迟，通常是在连续统中相关的。胆小的行为在种群内部和个体之间以及种群之间都是不同的。这种变异可能受遗传控制，但也可能受到当前环境因素、年龄或早期发育经历的显著影响。三棘棘鱼（Gasterosteus aculeatus）是研究行为和进化基因组学的一个模型系统，特别适合研究导致胆小个性类型变异的遗传和生理过程。实验将用于确定来自不同环境的棘鱼如何应对压力（遭遇捕食者）。来自无食肉鱼类种群的刺鱼比来自有食肉鱼类种群的刺鱼更大胆。对实验室饲养的棘鱼进行的实验将确定基因和/或内分泌差异是否解释了害羞行为的自然变化。

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.