The Ecology of Sexual Selection

性选择的生态学

• 批准号: RGPIN-2017-04674
• 负责人: Judge, Kevin
• 金额: $ 2.04万
• 依托单位: Grant MacEwan University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=743858
• 关键词: Ecology; Sexual; Selection

Measuring sexual selection in nature is a major focus of evolutionary biology and has been facilitated by the development of multivariate statistical tools. However, the future of these tools lies in bringing them within an experimental framework. My long-term research objective is to understand how the environment affects the evolution of mating systems in the wild. A major difficulty is collecting accurate measures of fitness for large numbers of individuals. One solution is to use systems in which individual fitness is recorded on the organism's body. Such is the case for male mating success in insects of the genus Cyphoderris, where mating females chew on the male's hind wings, damaging them permanently. I will use the Cyphoderris system to pursue 2 short-term research objectives.Short-Term Objective 1: The Effects of Ecological Gradients on Sexual SelectionComparatively little attention has been focussed on the evolutionary effects of ecological changes on wild populations. I have shown that hungry female Cyphoderris are more likely to mate than well-fed females. This raises the possibility that the strength of sexual selection is dependent upon resource availability. Cyphoderris populations are found throughout the forested interior of BC and western regions of Alberta areas that are both ecologically and economically important. I will measure sexual selection in wild populations of Cyphoderris in these regions that have been exposed to varying degrees of environmental disturbance (e.g. forest harvest regime, pine beetle infestation, fire occurrence). Evolutionary adaptations are important to our understanding of the scope and long-term effects of ecological disturbances and the ability of wild populations to tolerate environmental change.Short-Term Objective 2: The Ecology of Hybridization and the Breakdown of Species Isolating MechanismsHybrid zones have long fascinated evolutionary biologists because they are natural laboratories in which the processes governing speciation and the maintenance of species boundaries can be tested. Recently, I have found morphological evidence of hybridization between C. buckelli and C. monstrosa, and have shown that males provide nutritional resources to females during mating. I propose to use the Cyphoderris hybrid zone to study the evolutionary effects of species isolating mechanisms. Understanding evolution in hybrid zones is important as humans alter the ranges of wild populations.Humans continue to modify the environment at an unprecedented rate. Most work has concentrated on understanding and mitigating our effects on biodiversity. However, it is clear that evolution can occur over ecological timescales meaning that conservation must consider evolutionary effects of ecological change. My proposed research will address this important gap in our understanding of the effects of anthropogenic change.

测量自然界中的性选择是进化生物学的一个主要焦点，多元统计工具的发展促进了这一研究。然而，这些工具的未来在于将它们置于实验性框架内。我的长期研究目标是了解环境如何影响野外交配系统的进化。一个主要的困难是收集大量个体的准确适应度测量。一个解决方案是使用一个系统，在这个系统中，个体的健康状况被记录在有机体的身体上。这就是雄虫成功交配的例子，在这种昆虫中，交配的雌虫会咀嚼雄虫的后翅，永久性地损伤它们。我将使用Cyphoderris系统来实现两个短期研究目标。短期目标1：生态梯度对性选择的影响生态变化对野生种群的进化影响的研究相对较少。我已经证明饥饿的雌性Cyphoderris比营养充足的雌性更容易交配。这就提出了一种可能性，即性选择的强度取决于资源的可用性。在不列颠哥伦比亚省和阿尔伯塔省西部地区的森林内陆地区发现了Cyphoderris种群，这些地区在生态和经济上都很重要。我将测量这些地区Cyphoderris野生种群的性选择，这些种群暴露于不同程度的环境干扰（例如森林采伐制度、松甲虫侵扰、火灾发生）。进化适应对于我们理解生态干扰的范围和长期影响以及野生种群容忍环境变化的能力非常重要。短期目标2：杂交生态学和物种隔离机制的分解杂交区长期以来一直吸引着进化生物学家，因为它们是自然实验室，可以测试控制物种形成和维持物种边界的过程。最近，我发现了C. buckelli和C. monstrosa杂交的形态学证据，并表明雄性在交配时为雌性提供营养资源。我建议利用小檗杂交带来研究物种分离机制的进化效应。了解杂交地区的进化很重要，因为人类改变了野生种群的分布范围。人类继续以前所未有的速度改变环境。大多数工作都集中在理解和减轻我们对生物多样性的影响。然而，很明显，进化可以在生态时间尺度上发生，这意味着保护必须考虑生态变化的进化效应。我提出的研究将填补我们对人为变化影响的理解中的这一重要空白。