Dissertation Research: Thermal and Hydric Effects on Incubation in Sceloporus merriami Eggs

目前研究生命史进化的尝试已经开始 关注多重因果关系：人口统计学，行为学，生理学， 生物物理学和生态学都相互作用塑造生命史 表型 重点放在评价精力充沛， 行为和环境因素， 上下文，试图从生活中产生可测试的预测 历史理论 因此，不同土壤的影响 水分势和温度对孵化率的影响 大小（质量和长度），以及鬣蜥的发育时间 蜥蜴，Sceloporus merriami将被评估。 这将是 与女性领地的特殊模式相结合 以及在这些动物中的活动范围。 雌性攻击性 保卫自己的领土不受雄性和其他雌性的侵犯， 雄性直接防御其他雄性 然而，无论是 在性别方面，领土似乎是整体继承的。 此外，委员会认为， 某些地区是“热点”， 都比同龄人的平均寿命长得多 时间 此外，无论是大的男性和女性有更多的 卵和较大的雄性往往控制更多的雌性。 因素 因此，影响规模应该很重要。 这一综合 方法允许行为（领土），生理和 生物物理学（鸡蛋需求）和人口统计学，将在 以综合方式对待终生生殖健康 成功 任何试图评估维护所需的最小面积的尝试 爬行动物的繁殖种群需要采用上述方法 多重因果关系分析法 这样的考虑正在成为 关键的保护尝试，以维持和重新储存稀有或 珍贵物种。 在一个非常极端的保守措施，数据 通过上述方法产生的可以用于圈养繁殖 作为野外的种子储备。

Current attempts to study life history evolution have begun to focus on multiple causality: demography, behavior, physiology, biophysics, and ecology all interact to shape life history phenotypes. Emphasis has been placed on evaluating energetic, behavioral, and environmental factors, within a demographic context, in an attempt to generate testable predictions from life history theories. Accordingly, the effects of different soil moisture potentials and temperatures on hatchability, hatchling size (mass and length), and development time in the iguanid lizard, Sceloporus merriami will be evaluated. This will be integrated with the particular pattern of female territoriality and home range use seen in these animals. Females aggressively defend their territories from males and other females, while males direct their defense against other males. Yet for either sex, territories appear to be inherited en bloc. Furthermore, specific territories are "hot spots", where the inhabitants invariably live far longer than the average cohort generation time. Additionally, both large males and large females have more eggs and larger males tend to control more females. Factors affecting size should, then, be important. This integrated approach allows behavior (territoriality), physiology and biophysics (egg requirements), and demography, to be evaluated in an integrated manner with regard to lifetime reproductive success. Any attempt to evaluate minimum areas required to maintain breeding populations of reptiles needs to employ the above multiple causality approach. Such considerations are becoming pivotal to conservation attempts to maintain and restock rare or valuable species. In a very extreme conservation measure, data generated by the above approach can be used to captive-breed decimated populations to use as seed stock in the wild.