Joint Evolution of Energetics, Behaviour and Performance in Wild Mice

在人类和非人类动物中，在生理、行为和体能（表现）方面存在着巨大而一致的个体差异。尽管个体差异通常被视为自然选择的原材料，但它也可能是选择本身的结果，因为在种群中，其他策略通常更受青睐。例如，由于环境在空间和时间上的异质性，不同的性状组合可能导致相同的繁殖成功率。虽然可预测或稳定的环境有利于采用“慢”生活节奏的个体（即成熟晚，产仔少，寿命长），但不可预测或不稳定的环境有利于采用“快”生活节奏的个体（即成熟早，产仔多，寿命短）。反过来，沿着“慢-快”连续体的变化应该影响共同适应的代谢、行为和性能特征，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。这项提议的目的是测试在慢节奏的生活连续体中代谢、行为和表现特征之间的共同适应。为此，我们将量化自然选择如何作用于各种代谢、行为、表现和生活史特征，以及量化这些特征的多变量定量遗传结构。具体来说，我们将对野生白足鼠进行一项长期的、基于个体的研究，白足鼠是一种相对常见的、研究得很好的、容易捕获的北美啮齿动物。我们将安装巢箱，供老鼠在白天的庇护所和繁殖期间筑巢。定期访问这些巢箱，结合现场诱捕和基因分析，可以精确量化生存和繁殖成功率。此外，个体将在其一生中多次被捕获，以量化其表型的不同方面，如基础代谢率、有氧能力、冲刺速度、耐力、敏捷性、活跃性、胆识和探索行为。由此产生的数据集将允许测试这些性状是否在相关选择下，这有利于共同适应，以及2)功能整合（遗传协方差），这将表明共同适应。在此过程中，该研究项目不仅将对我们理解复杂性状之间的共变是如何维持的产生重大影响，而且还将提供一个独特的环境，以培养具有不同技术的广泛学科的年轻科学家，这些技术对学术界、环境咨询、兽医科学、野生生物、保护、自然博物馆和公园的工作有价值。

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.