Architecture of fitness-related traits in wildlife populations

野生动物种群健康相关特征的结构

• 批准号: RGPIN-2018-04354
• 负责人: Coltman, David
• 金额: $ 5.68万
• 依托单位: University of Western Ontario
• 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=744715
• 关键词: Architecture; fitness; related; traits; wildlife

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.

个体的表型各不相同，而个体之间的差异正是选择所依据的。表型差异的结构——它们是如何遗传和基因决定的——决定了进化变化的潜力。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（SNPs）来研究遗传能力，近交和远交的适应性结果，并确定性状变异的基础基因。本提案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。公羊山大角羊的数量经历了激烈的战利品狩猎，自20世纪90年代中期以来一直在下降。公羊也表现出角的生长减少，这与狩猎强加的人工选择的反应是一致的。在过去的10年里，羊已经从Cadomin移植，以提供人口和基因救援。本项目旨在评估遗传背景、家系、近交和抢救过程中引入的特定等位基因对表型性状的影响。1922年，从班夫引进的羊建立了国家野牛牧场大角羊种群。羊的数量一直在增长，但一直遭受近亲繁殖的困扰，直到20世纪90年代，人们通过移植新羊来拯救羊的基因。2016年春季，该国人口刚刚经历了一场全年龄段的肺炎流行，导致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体的生存和人口在经过选择瓶颈时的人口恢复。克卢恩红松鼠种群自20世纪80年代末以来一直被研究，其谱系深度约为8代。理论预测像Kluane这样的大种群应该有很高的遗传负荷，然而我们对近亲繁殖抑郁症的重要性知之甚少。该项目的目标是研究近亲繁殖和基因组共祖的适应度结果。在过去的50年里，黑貂岛灰海豹的数量呈指数级增长，现在是世界上最大的繁殖群。繁殖中的雌性表现出高度可重复的母性表现特征，这就提出了一个问题，为什么有些母亲比其他母亲更好？这个项目的目标是估计个性特征的可重复性，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可以提高我们对野生动物种群进化潜力的理解，并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。