Dissertation Research: The Ontogeny and Phylogeny of Antipredator Behavior in Snakes of the Genus Thamnophis

结构特征的进化（例如，骨骼和肌肉）的变化往往是通过发育时间的变化而发生的。动物的行为也可能通过这种发育时间的变化而进化;然而，这种可能性几乎被行为生物学家完全忽视。初步证据表明，束带蛇的反捕食行为的发展和进化之间有很强的联系。目前的研究将详细探讨这种关系，因此应该大大增加我们的知识的进化修改的行为。

The evolution of structural traits (e.g., bones and muscles) often occurs through changes in the timing of development. The behavior of animals may also evolve via such changes in developmental timing; however, this possibility has been almost completely ignored by behavioral biologists. Preliminary evidence suggests a strong link between the development and evolution of anti-predator behavior in garter snakes. The present study will explore this relationshiop in detail and thus should add significantly to our knowledge of the evolutionary modification of behavior.