Joint Evolution of Energetics, Behaviour and Performance in Wild Mice

在人类和非人类动物中，个体之间在生理、行为和体能(表现)上存在巨大而一致的差异。尽管个体差异通常被视为自然选择所依据的原材料，但它也可能是选择本身的结果，因为另类策略在种群中通常是受青睐的。例如，由于环境在空间和时间上的异质性，不同的性状组合可以导致相同的生殖成功。可预测或稳定的环境有利于采用“慢”生活节奏的个体(即，晚熟、少胎、长寿)，而不可预测或不稳定的环境有利于采用“快”生活节奏的个体(即，早熟、多胎、短寿命)。反过来，沿着“慢-快”连续体的变化应该会影响一系列共同适应的代谢、行为和表现特征，这些特征共同进化以支持不同的生活节奏。虽然共同适应是进化论中的一个关键概念，可以潜在地解释个体差异是如何产生和维持的，但表明共同适应的实证研究很少。这项建议的目标是测试新陈代谢、行为和表现特征之间的共同适应，沿着生活的慢节奏和快节奏。为此，我们将量化自然选择如何作用于各种新陈代谢、行为、表现和生活史特征，并量化这些特征的多变量量化遗传结构。具体地说，我们将对野生白足老鼠进行长期的、以个体为基础的研究，这种老鼠是一种相对常见的、经过充分研究的、易于捕获的北美啮齿动物。我们将安装巢箱，小鼠将在白天用作避难所，并在繁殖期间筑巢。定期访问这些巢箱，结合活体诱捕和遗传分析，将使生存和繁殖成功的准确量化。此外，个体一生中将被重新捕获几次，以量化其表型的不同方面，如基础代谢率、有氧能力、短跑速度、耐力、敏捷、活动、大胆和探索行为。由此产生的数据集将允许测试这些特征是否为1)在相关选择下，这将有利于共同适应，以及2)功能整合(遗传协方差)，这将表明共同适应。通过这样做，这个研究项目不仅将对我们理解复杂性状之间如何保持共同变异产生重大影响，而且还将为培养具有不同技术的广泛学科的年轻科学家提供一个独特的环境，这些技术对学术界、环境咨询、兽医科学、野生动物生物学、保护、自然博物馆和公园的工作很有价值。

In humans and non-human animals, there are large and consistent among-individual differences in physiology, behaviour, and physical ability (performance). Although individual variation is commonly viewed as the raw material upon which natural selection acts, it can also be the result of selection itself because alternative strategies are commonly favoured within a population. For example, different trait combinations can result in equivalent reproductive success due to environmental heterogeneity over space and time. While predictable or stable environments favour individuals who adopt a “slow” pace of life (i.e., late maturation, small litters, long life), unpredictable or unstable environments favour individuals who adopt a “fast” pace of life (i.e., early maturation, large litters, short life). In turn, variation along a “slow-fast” continuum should affect suites of co-adapted metabolic, behavioural, and performance traits that jointly evolve to support different paces of life. Although co-adaptation is a key concept in evolution and can potentially explain how individual differences are generated and maintained, empirical studies showing co-adaptation are scarce. The goal of this proposal is to test for co-adaptation among metabolic, behavioural, and performance traits along the slow-fast pace of life continuum. To do so, we will quantify how natural selection acts on various metabolic, behavioural, performance, and life-history traits as well as quantify the multivariate quantitative genetic architecture of these traits. Specifically, we will conduct a long-term, individual-based study of wild white-footed mice, a relatively common, well studied, and easy to capture North American rodent. We will install nest boxes which mice will use as daytime refuges and for nesting during reproduction. Regular visits of these nest boxes, in combination with live trapping and genetic analyses, will allow precise quantification of survival and reproductive success. Moreover, individuals will be recaptured several times throughout their lives to quantify different aspects of their phenotypes, such as basal metabolic rate, aerobic capacity, sprint speed, endurance, agility, activity, boldness, and exploratory behaviour. The resulting dataset will allow testing whether these traits are 1) under correlational selection, which would favour co-adaptation, and 2) functionally integrated (genetic covariance), which would indicate co-adaptation. In doing so, this research program will not only have a significant impact on our understanding of how co-variation among complex traits is maintained, but will also offer a unique environment for training young scientists in a wide range of disciplines with different techniques valuable for jobs in academia, environmental consultancy, veterinary sciences, wildlife biology, conservation, nature museums, and parks.