Doctoral Dissertation: The Influence of Selection and Gene Flow on Geographic Variation in Antipredator Behavior

Name：zhang cheng Burghardt / John S.标题：选择和基因流对反捕食行为地理变异的影响生活在不同地区或栖息地的动物在其生理和行为特征上遇到不同的选择压力。对这种地理变异的研究必须结合遗传和历史信息才能提供最多的信息。在这项研究中，反捕食者行为的地理变化将在共同的吊袜蛇（Thamnophis sirtalis）生活在一个岛屿系统，有充分记载的地质历史检查。捕食者的压力和各种遗传特征的影响，在行为的地理变异将在成年和新生儿蛇从几个岛屿和大陆的人口，测试一系列的假设有关的差异antipredator的行为捕食压力。迄今为止收集的数据表明，捕食者的压力和防御行为不同，这些人口。由于每个岛屿的年龄是已知的，岛蛇的历史将重建使用遗传分化的分子标记和测量的遗传历史和捕食对蛇的行为反应的相对影响。这项研究将是少数几个结合了复杂行为和遗传学的自然差异数据的研究之一，提供了种内行为差异和保护生物学需求的急需信息。此外，这项研究利用了几所大学的本科生，并提供了行为和分子生物学方面的培训。

Name: Gordon M. Burghardt / John S. Placyk, Jr.Title: The influence of selection and gene flow on geographic variation in antipredator behaviorAnimals living in different areas or habitats encounter different selection pressures on their physical and behavioral traits. Studies of such geographic variation must incorporate both genetic and historical information to be most informative. In this study, geographic variation in antipredator behavior will be examined in common gartersnakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) living in an island system with a well-documented geological history. The influence of predator pressures and various genetic characteristics on geographic variation in behavior will be examined in adult and neonatal snakes from several island and mainland populations, testing a series of hypotheses relating the differences in antipredator behaviors to predation pressures. Data collected to date indicate that both predator pressures and defensive behavior differ among these populations. Since the age of each island is known, the history of the island snakes will be reconstructed using molecular markers of genetic differentiation and measurements of the relative effects of genetic history and predation on the behavioral responses of the snakes. This study will be one of few that combines data on natural differences in complex behavior and genetics, providing much needed information on the divergence of behavior at the intraspecific level and the needs of conservation biology. In addition, this research utilizes undergraduates from several universities and provides training in behavioral and molecular biology.