DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Linking Development with Evolution: Morphological and Ecological Consequences Associated with Walking Stick Limb Regeneration

论文研究：将发展与进化联系起来：与手杖肢体再生相关的形态和生态后果。蒙大拿大学的道格拉斯·埃伦塔拉·普雷索尔德(Douglas EmlenTara Prestholdt)手杖(顺序：Phasmida)在昆虫中是独特的，因为它们经常脱落并再生失去的腿。然而，这种发展能力是有代价的：用于重新成长一条腿的资源是以牺牲其他结构为代价的。根据物种的不同，再生腿部的手杖可能会出现翅膀面积减少(如粉色有翼手杖)、繁殖力下降(如常见的手杖Carasious morosus)和/或武器尺寸减小(如Eurycantha calcarata--一种用于雄性比赛的后腿变大的巨型刺棍昆虫)。与腿部再生相关的发育权衡可能会对这些野生动物产生重要的表现和健康后果(例如，飞行能力受损或战斗能力下降)。然而，这些动物在它们的自然栖息地几乎完全没有被探索过，目前还不知道这些动物在自然环境中多久脱落和再生肢体一次。这个项目需要对野外手杖腿再生的原因和后果进行严格的研究。通过(1)展示腿部再生发生的频率，(2)再生的后果是什么，以及(3)将这些信息置于明确的生态背景下，我们将增加对发育过程(如再生)如何影响进化的理解。权衡的概念可以推广，而更新有可测量的成本--这些成本在可预测的方式上不同--的想法可以帮助解释与更新相关的模式和各种分类群的再生能力的演变。

Dissertation Research: Linking Development with Evolution: morphological and ecological consequences associated with limb regeneration in walking sticks.Dr. Douglas EmlenTara PrestholdtUniversity of MontanaWalking Sticks (Order: Phasmida) are unique among insects in that they regularly shed and regenerate lost legs. However, this developmental capacity comes at a price: resources used to re-grow a leg come at the expense of other structures. Depending on the species, walking sticks regenerating a leg may experience decreased wing area (as in Sipyloidea sipylus - the pink winged walking stick), decreased fecundity (as in Carasious morosus, the common walking stick), and/or decreased weapon size (as in Eurycantha calcarata - the Giant spiny stick insect that has enlarged hind legs used in male-male competitions). Developmental tradeoffs associated with leg regeneration may have important performance and fitness consequences for these animals in the wild (e.g. impaired flight ability or decreased fighting ability). However, these animals remain almost entirely unexplored in their natural habitats, and it is not yet known how often these animals shed and regenerate limbs in their natural environment. This project entails a rigorous study of the causes and consequences of walking stick leg-regeneration in the wild. By (1) demonstrating how often leg-regeneration occurs, (2) what the consequences of regeneration are, and (3) placing this information within an explicit ecological context, we will increase our understanding of how developmental processes (such as regeneration) impact evolution. The concept of tradeoffs can be generalized, and the idea that regeneration has measurable costs - and that these costs differ in predictable ways - can help explain patterns associated with regeneration and the evolution of regenerative capacities across a breadth of taxa.