The influence of gamete phenotype, gamete genotype and behavior on reproductive success in broadcast spawning invertebrates

通过生殖成功进行的选择可以对性别二型性的特征和模式的进化产生重大影响。大多数研究都集中在一种性别的选择比另一种性别更激烈的情况下。一般来说，雄性被认为是在争夺配偶，而雌性则在潜在的配偶中进行选择，导致雄性生殖成功的差异很大，而女性生殖成功的差异很小。然而，以前的研究表明，在某些种群密度下，在广播产卵的海洋无脊椎动物中，雄性和雌性成功率的差异可能很大。这个项目将在这个原始的交配策略中解决这些模式对繁殖力选择的影响。三种海胆将被用来研究产卵行为、种群密度、配子表型和基因对繁殖成功的影响。微卫星标记将用于确定实验室和现场实验产生的幼虫的母子和父子关系。将评估配子识别蛋白和配子形态对繁殖成功的相对贡献，并将研究在存在和不存在配子竞争的情况下产卵行为的性别差异的后果。这项研究将为解决海洋中的繁殖力选择和性别冲突提供参考。更广泛的影响将包括培训许多本科生、应届毕业生和研究生助理。该研究计划将被用作在佛罗里达州立大学和班菲尔德海洋科学中心教授的本科生和研究生课程中教授科学的机制。

Selection via reproductive success can have a major influence on the evolution of traits and patterns of gender dimorphism. Most research has focused on scenarios in which selection is more intense for one gender than the other. Generally, males are thought to compete for mates while females choose among potential mates, resulting in high variance in male reproductive success and low variance in female reproductive success. However, previous work has shown that at some population densities, variance in both male and female success can be high in broadcast spawning marine invertebrates. This project will address the consequences of these patterns for fecundity selection in this primitive mating strategy. Three species of sea urchins will be used to address how spawning behavior, population density, and gamete phenotype and genotype influence reproductive success. Microsatellite markers will be used to establish maternity and paternity of larvae generated from laboratory and field experiments. The relative contributions of gamete recognition proteins and gamete morphology to reproductive success will be assessed, and the consequences of gender differences in spawning behavior in the presence and absence of gamete competition will be examined. This study will provide insight into the resolution of fecundity selection and gender conflict in the sea. Broader impacts will include the training of numerous undergraduate, recent graduate and graduate student assistants. The research program will be used as a mechanism to teach science in undergraduate and graduate courses taught at both at Florida State University and at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Center.