DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Signal Evolution in Heterospecific Contact Zones and Selective Bases for Reproductive Character Displacement in Pseudacris Frogs

北美合唱蛙是研究物种形成的一个很好的群体，特别是在物种相互接触的地区种群的生殖行为是如何不同的。我们将研究在三个物种同时出现的地区，合唱青蛙物种的叫声是如何进化的。繁殖行为(叫声模式)的差异将在种间接触的区域进行量化。实验室实验将确定物种间杂交的后果，野外实验将开始确定雌性青蛙的叫声偏好，以此作为加强物种歧视的证据。这项拟议的研究结合了生态学和进化生物学中几个子学科的理论和技术，这种结合应该会对生殖隔离在物种形成中所起的作用产生新的见解和结果。

North American chorus frogs (Pseudacris) represent an excellent group to study speciation, and particularly how reproductive behaviors of populations differ in areas where species come into contact with one another. We will study how the calls of chorus frog species evolve in areas where three species co-occur. Differences in reproductive behavior (calling patterns) will be quantified in areas of interspecific contact. Laboratory experiments will determine the consequences of hybridization among species, and field experiments will be initiated to determine calling preferences of female frogs as evidence for reinforcement of species discrimination. The proposed research combines theory and techniques from several subdisciplines in ecology and evolutionary biology, and this combination should yield novel insights and results into role that reproductive isolation plays in speciation.