Dissertation Research: Interactions Between Primary and Secondary Sexual Characters in the Tortoise Beetle Acromis sparsa

这个项目需要一个研究和教育计划，专注于动物不同类型夸张形态的发展和进化。在雄性昆虫中，外骨骼武器影响它们获得配偶的能力，而生殖器影响它们成功使这些获得的配偶受精的能力。到目前为止，男性武器和生殖器都是分开研究的。然而，这种方法可能是不够的，因为武器和生殖器可能相互作用，并共同影响男性生殖成功。该项目的目标是整合发育、行为和进化领域，以揭示这些不同形态之间相互作用的本质，并确定影响整个生物体繁殖成功的组合因素。为了实现这一目标，将进行一系列实验，以确定武器和生殖器在金龟子雄性生殖成功中的相对重要性。更广泛的影响：这项研究还将对本科生进行昆虫行为和实验设计方面的培训。将鼓励学生提出自己的问题并完成自己的研究出版物。最后，这项研究将通过生态旅游导游和高中生等群体的讲座向非学术社区传播。

This project entails a program of research and education that focuses on the development and evolution of different types of exaggerated morphologies in animals. In male insects, exoskeletal weapons influence their ability to acquire mates, whereas genitalia influence their ability to successfully fertilize these acquired mates. To date, male weapons and genitalia have been studied separately. However, this approach may be inadequate because weapons and genitalia are likely to interact, and jointly affect male reproductive success. The goal of this project is to integrate the fields of development, behavior and evolution to reveal the nature of the interactions between these different morphologies and to determine the combined factors that affect reproductive success on whole organisms. This objective will be addressed with a series of experiments that determine the relative importance of weapons and genitalia in the reproductive success of males of the beetle Acromis sparsa. Broader Impacts: This study will also train undergraduate students in insect behavior and experimental design. Students will be encouraged to develop their own questions and complete their own research publications. Finally, this research will be disseminated to non-academic communities through lectures for groups such as eco-tourism guides and high school students.