DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The Importance of Alternative Mating Types to Speciation

一个物种分化成两个独立物种的机制仍然是生物学的一个中心问题。这项研究将检验性选择（对配偶的竞争）促进快速进化和物种形成的假设。这项研究将在侧斑蜥蜴Uta stansburiana上进行，这种蜥蜴有三种不同的雄性交配策略来争夺雌性。首先，系统发育方法（重建种群进化历史的方法）将用于测试当交配类型在种群中丢失时，是否存在多个性状的快速进化。然后进行行为和交配实验，以检验种群之间交配类型变化是否会导致生殖隔离（物种形成的标志）。了解物种形成的机制可以为遗传学、保护学、生态学和所有其他生物学领域的研究提供信息，因为物种是生物学研究的基本单位。 作为该项目的一部分，至少有三名本科生将获得生物学多个领域的实践经验，包括行为生态学，进化论和遗传学。本科生还将学习实验设计和一些最常见的分子生物学方法，包括DNA提取，聚合酶链反应和DNA测序。

The mechanisms by which a single species diverges to form two separate species remains a central question in biology. This research will test the hypothesis that sexual selection (competition for mates) promotes rapid evolution and speciation. This study will be conducted on the side-blotched lizard, Uta stansburiana, a species that has three distinct male mating strategies that compete for females. First, phylogenetic methods (methods that reconstruct the evolutionary history of populations) will be used to test whether there is rapid evolution of multiple traits when mating types are lost in a population. Then, both behavioral and mating experiments will be done to test if reproductive isolation (the hallmark of speciation) results when mating types change between populations.Understanding the mechanisms of speciation can inform research on genetics, conservation, ecology, and all other areas of biology since species are the fundamental unit of study in biology. As part of this project, at least three undergraduates will gain hands on experience in multiple fields of biology including behavioral ecology, evolution, and phylogenetics. The undergraduates will also learn experimental design and some of the most common methods of molecular biology including DNA extraction, the polymerase chain reaction, and DNA sequencing.