Rapid Phenotypic Evolution and Speciation in a Lake Stickleback

快速多变量进化的一般原理他的项目利用湖中三刺鱼(尖吻刺鱼)种群的快速进化来解决两个进化问题。(1)遗传变异是否偏离了进化的方向？将计算湖泊种群及其海洋祖先的遗传协方差矩阵(G矩阵)，它总结了可遗传的性状变异和关联。G矩阵将相互比较，并与表型协方差矩阵(P矩阵)进行比较，表型协方差矩阵总结总的性状变异和关联。将对G和P矩阵进行分析，以推断它们是否在后代湖泊种群内偏离了进化方向，以及G已经进化。(2)对后代湖泊种群生态条件的适应是否会减少后代与祖先后代之间的杂交，即后代是否为新物种？择偶实验将被用来观察这些种群是否更喜欢自己种群的成员而不是其他种群的成员作为配偶。该项目将指出遗传变异是否会偏向自然种群的进化和新物种的形成，作为适应生态条件的副产品。它将提高我们对刺鱼多样化和适应新环境和物种形成的速度的理解，这对恢复生物多样性具有重要意义。最后，它将促进阿拉斯加大学、安克雷奇大学和石溪大学生物学家之间的合作，并为这两所大学的研究生和本科生提供研究经验。

Michael Bell, James Rohlf, Frank von Hippel DEB-0322818 AbstractGENETICS OF RAPID MULTIVARIATE EVOLUTION AND SPECIATIONThis project exploits rapid evolution in a lake population of threespine stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus) to address two evolutionary questions. (1) Does genetic variation bias the direction of evolution? Genetic covariance matrices (G matrices), which summarize heritable trait variation and associations, will be computed for the lake population and its marine ancestor. The G matrices will be compared to each other and to phenotypic covariance matrices (P matrices), which summarize total trait variation and associations. G and P matrices will be analyzed to infer whether they have biased the direction of evolution within the descendant lake population and G has evolved. (2) Does adaptation to ecological conditions in the descendant lake population reduce interbreeding between the descendant and ancestral poulations, i.e., is the descendant a new species? Mate choice experiments will be used to see if these populations prefer members of their own population to those of the other as mates. This project will indicate whether genetic variation biases evolution of natural populations and new species form as a byproduct of adaptation to ecological conditions. It will improve our understanding of stickleback diversification and rates of adaptation to new environments and speciation, which have implications for restoration of biodiversity. Finally, it will facilitate collaboration between biologists at the University of Alaska, Anchorage and Stony Brook University and give graduate and undergraduate students at both institutions research experience.