Architecture of fitness-related traits in wildlife populations

个体的表型各不相同，个体之间的差异是选择作用的结果。表型差异的结构如何遗传和遗传决定了进化变化的可能性。我的研究计划的长期目标是通过研究性状变异的结构及其与适应性的关系来了解野生种群中表型性状的进化动力学。我和我的学生使用微卫星和单核苷酸多态性（SNP）来研究遗传力，近亲繁殖和远系繁殖的适应性后果，并确定性状变异的基因。该建议将这些遗传工具应用于四项野生种群长期研究中相互关联的短期目标。公羊山大角羊人口经历了激烈的战利品狩猎，并已下降，自20世纪90年代中期。公羊也表现出减少角的增长，符合狩猎施加的人工选择的反应。在过去的10年里，绵羊被从卡多明移植过来，以提供人口和遗传拯救。本项目的目标是评估遗传背景、系谱、近交和拯救过程中引入的特定等位基因对表型性状的影响。国家野牛范围大角羊人口成立于1922年引进羊从班夫。人口增长，但遭受近亲繁殖的抑郁症，直到1990年代通过移植新的绵羊进行基因拯救。 2016年春季，人口刚刚经历了一场全年龄段的肺炎流行病，造成50%以上的人死亡。该项目的目标是评估遗传因素是否有助于个人的生存和人口的人口恢复，因为它通过一个选择性的瓶颈。克鲁恩红松鼠种群自20世纪80年代末以来一直在研究，其系谱深度约为8代。理论预测，像克鲁恩这样的大群体应该有高的遗传负荷，但我们对近交衰退的重要性知之甚少。 这个项目的目标是研究近亲繁殖和基因组共祖先的适应性后果。在过去的50年里，塞布尔岛的灰海豹数量呈指数级增长，现在是世界上最大的繁殖地。繁殖雌性表现出高度可重复的母性表现特征，提出了一个问题，为什么有些母亲比其他人更好？该项目的目标是估计人格特征的可重复性，并评估其对野生雌性灰海豹繁殖成功的影响。评估生态重要特征的结构提高了我们对野生动物种群进化潜力的理解，并将有助于预测它们对不断变化的环境条件和人类威胁的反应。

Individuals vary in their phenotype, and differences among individuals are what selection acts upon. The architecture of phenotypic differences how they are inherited and genetically determined sets the potential for evolutionary change. The long term goal of my research program is to understand the evolutionary dynamics of phenotypic traits in wild populations by studying the architecture of trait variation and how it relates to fitness. My students and I use microsatellites and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to study heritability, the fitness consequences of inbreeding and outbreeding, and to identify the genes that underlie trait variation. This proposal applies these genetic tools to address interrelated short-term goals in four long-term studies of wild populations. The Ram Mountain bighorn sheep population has experienced intense trophy hunting and has declined since the middle of the 1990s. Rams also exhibit diminished horn growth, consistent with a response to artificial selection imposed by hunting. Over the past 10 years, sheep have been transplanted from Cadomin to provide a demographic and genetic rescue. The goal of this project is to assess the effects of genetic background, pedigree, inbreeding and specific alleles introduced during the rescue on phenotypic traits. The National Bison Range bighorn sheep population was founded in 1922 by the introduction of sheep from Banff. The population grew but suffered from inbreeding depression until it was genetically rescued through transplant of new sheep in the 1990s. The population just experienced an all-age epidemic of pneumonia in the spring of 2016, killing more than 50% of all individuals. The goal of this project is to assess whether genetic factors contribute to the survival of individuals and demographic recovery of the population as it passes through a selective bottleneck. The Kluane red squirrel population has been studied since the late 1980s and has a pedigree to a depth of ~8 generations. Theory predicts that large populations like Kluane should have high genetic load, however we know little about the importance of inbreeding depression. The goal of this project is to study the fitness consequences of inbreeding and genomic coancestry. The Sable Island grey seal population has grown exponentially over the past 50 years and is now the world's largest breeding colony. Breeding females exhibit highly repeatable maternal performance characteristics, raising the question why are some mothers better than others? The goal of this project is to estimate the repeatability of a personality trait and assess its influence on reproductive success in wild female grey seals. Assessing the architecture of ecologically important traits elevates our understanding of the evolutionary potential of wildlife populations, and will aid in predicting their responses to changing environmental conditions and human threats.*****