The Ecology of Sexual Selection

测量自然界中的性选择是进化生物学的一个主要焦点，多变量统计工具的发展促进了这一点。然而，这些工具的未来在于将它们纳入实验框架。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人健康状况的准确衡量标准。一种解决方案是使用系统，在该系统中，个体的健康状况被记录在有机体的身体上。雄鱼属昆虫的交配成功就是这样的情况，交配的雌虫咬住雄虫的后翼，永久地损坏它们。我将使用CyPhoderris系统来追求两个短期研究目标。*短期目标1：生态梯度对性选择的影响*相对较少关注生态变化对野生种群的进化影响。我已经证明，饥饿的雌性天鹅比饱餐的雌性更有可能交配。这增加了性选择的强度依赖于资源可获得性的可能性。在不列颠哥伦比亚省的森林内部和艾伯塔省的西部地区都可以发现天鱼种群，这两个地区具有重要的生态和经济意义。我将测量这些地区野生鲤鱼种群的性别选择，这些地区已经暴露在不同程度的环境干扰(例如，森林收获制度、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对环境变化的耐受能力很重要。短期目标2：杂交的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，因为它们是可以测试物种形成和物种边界维持过程的自然实验室。最近，我发现了巴克利和蒙斯特罗萨杂交的形态证据，并表明雄性在交配时为雌性提供营养资源。我建议使用Cyphderris杂交区来研究物种隔离机制的进化效应。随着人类改变野生种群的范围，理解杂交区的进化是很重要的。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了解和减轻我们对生物多样性的影响上。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影响。我提议的研究将解决我们在理解人为变化的影响方面的这一重要差距。

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 Selection***Comparatively 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 Mechanisms***Hybrid 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.