DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The Evolution of Male Choice and Implications for Speciation by Reinforcement in the Hawaiian Cricket Genus Laupala (Family: Trigonidiinae)

在夏威夷的Laupala蟋蟀属中，遗传和行为证据表明，强化在物种形成中发挥了重要作用，这是一个自然选择反对杂交的过程，结果在亲本雌性中产生了更好的物种歧视。在进化生物学中，强化是一个有趣的问题，因为它为同域物种形成提供了解释，而且文献记载的案例相对较少；劳帕拉提供了一个特别有吸引力的案例研究，因为它似乎表明，由于精子产生的高成本，男性行为的变化导致了强化的最终结果是男性而不是女性选择的转变。我建议通过以下方法来验证这一假设：(1)创建种群水平的系统发育，以定义物种边界并确定强化区域；(2)通过测量交配不应期和精囊产生限制来评估雄性成本；(3)使用传统的强化试验来测试同域和异域物种对之间的行为隔离。总的来说，这项研究提出了一种新的和潜在的重要方法来研究强化和雄性选择，并可能为新物种如何在接触区域形成提供另一种解释。理解物种形成是更好地理解进化和我们在其中的作用的关键。这项工作很有价值，因为它提供了本科生和研究生的培训，而且，因为更广泛的影响将不仅有助于提高我们对物种形成过程的认识，而且可以帮助我们更好地了解如何保护脆弱的夏威夷生态系统。它涉及对妇女进行科学方面的培训。

In the Hawaiian cricket genus Laupala, genetic and behavioral evidence suggest that reinforcement, a process whereby natural selection against hybrids results in better species discrimination among the parental females, has played a substantial role in speciation. Reinforcement is an interesting problem in evolutionary biology because it provides an explanation for sympatric speciation, and because relatively few cases have been documented; Laupala provides a particularly attractive case study because it appears that changes in male behavior due to the high costs of spermatophore production have caused the end result of reinforcement to be a shift in male, rather than female, choice. I propose to test if this hypothesis by: (1) creating a population-level phylogeny in order to define species boundaries and identify areas of reinforcement, (2) evaluating male costs by measuring mating refractory periods and limits on spermatophore production, and (3) testing for behavioral isolation between sympatric and allopatric species pairs, using a traditional reinforcement assay. Overall, this study proposes to uncover a novel and potentially significant way of investigating both reinforcement and male choice, and may provide another explanation for how new species can form in areas of contact. Understanding speciation is key to a greater understanding of evolution and our role in it. This work is valuable because it provides for undergraduate and graduate training, and moreover, because the broader impacts will serve to not only enhance our appreciation for the processes of speciation, but may help us better appreciate how to preserve delicate Hawaiian ecosystems. It involves the training of women in the sciences.