Symposium: The Evolution of Thermal Reaction Norms for Growth Rate and Body Size in Ectotherms

专题讨论会：外温动物生长速率和身体大小的热反应标准的演变。和迈克尔·W.近年来，进化生物学家的一个主要目标是了解环境中的空间和时间变化如何影响性状的进化。特别是，在环境温度和生物体的大小之间的关系的兴趣复苏已经发生。生物学家已经记录了一个普遍的趋势，在外温动物：一般来说，个人在寒冷的环境中获得更大的身体尺寸在成年比个人在温暖的环境。温度和身体大小之间的这种广泛关系的基础是控制生长和成熟速率的行为和生理机制。最近的研究表明，这些机制可以迅速演变，以响应热环境的变化。这些经验发现引发了理论家们的一系列活动，他们试图解释温度-大小关系的演变。然而，尽管在这一领域的研究重新引起兴趣，经验和理论的努力仍然在很大程度上是不同步的。因此，进化论的解释仍然是难以捉摸的。这笔赠款将资助一个研讨会，联合研究人员调查温度，生长速度和身体大小之间的关系的原因。研讨会的目标有三个方面：1）确定在不同的热环境中影响生长速率和身体大小进化的权衡和限制，2）确定在研究充分的物种中影响温度-大小关系的因素是否可以推广到其他物种，以及3）讨论如何将这些因素纳入现有的理论。通过这次研讨会，将开发一种新的范式，用于理解在可变环境中性状的进化，并建立来自不同学科的研究人员之间的联系，这是推进这种范式所必需的。参与者包括理论家和生物学家，他们正在采取不同的方法来研究不同生物体的进化。此外，这些参与者从一些最有前途的博士后研究员到进化生物学领域的知名领导者。鉴于专题讨论会的重点突出和与会者的多样性，专题讨论会应就反应规范的演变提出综合意见，这些意见可迅速传播到科学界的各个有关部门。

Symposium: The Evolution of Thermal Reaction Norms forGrowth Rate and Body Size in EctothermsMichael J. Angilletta Jr. and Michael W. SearsIndiana State UniversityIn recent years, a major goal of evolutionary biologists has been to understand how spatial and temporal variation in the environment impacts the evolution of traits. In particular, a resurgence of interest in the relationship between environmental temperature and organismal body size has occurred. Biologists have documented a pervasive trend within ectotherms: in general, individuals in colder environments attain larger body sizes at adulthood than individuals in warmer environments. Underlying this widespread relationship between temperature and body size are behavioral and physiological mechanisms that govern the rates of growth and maturation. Recent studies have revealed that these mechanisms can evolve rapidly in response to variation in the thermal environment. These empirical findings have triggered a burst of activity by theorists who are trying to explain the evolution of temperature-size relationships. Yet, in spite of the renewed interest in this area of research, empirical and theoretical efforts are still largely unsynchronized. Consequently, evolutionary explanations remain elusive.This grant will fund a symposium that unites researchers investigating the causes of relationships among temperature, growth rate, and body size. The goals of the symposium are threefold: 1) to identify the tradeoffs and constraints that influence the evolution of growth rate and body size in different thermal environments, 2) to determine if the factors that influence temperature-size relationships in well-studied species can be generalized to other species, and 3) to discuss how these factors can be incorporated into existing theories. Through this symposium, a new paradigm for understanding the evolution of traits in variable environments will be developed, and links between researchers from different disciplines that are necessary to advance this paradigm will be established. The participants include theorists and empiricists who are taking different approaches to the study of evolution in diverse organisms. Moreover, these participants range from some of the most promising postdoctoral fellows to well-established leaders in the field of evolutionary biology. Given the sharp focus of the symposium and the diversity of participants, the symposium should spark a synthesis of ideas about the evolution of reactions norms that can diffuse rapidly throughout the relevant branches of the scientific community.