Genetic and Demographic Approaches to Life History Evolution in a Wild Lemur Population

了解影响生活史特征变异的生态和遗传因素是生活史研究中的一个中心挑战。这一挑战在按年龄和性别构成的人群中尤为严峻。尽管许多研究从生活史的角度获得了理论基础，但只有少数实证研究表明，生活史特征是如何由生物和非生物因素塑造的，以及这些特征如何反过来影响种群增长和进化动态。目前，对影响种群内生活史时间表的最接近机制的洞察来自少数易于操纵和/或圈养的生物体，它们的生活史时间表相对较快。对于长寿、性成熟缓慢的物种，如大多数灵长类动物，对哪些生活史特征是健康的关键决定因素的理解仍然很差。这项建议的研究目标是：(1)确定一个生活史进程缓慢的物种的生活史特征是如何受到遗传、性别和生态因素的影响的；(2)确定这些生活史性状中的哪些是当前被选择的；(3)确定这些生活史性状的表型变异/协变模式；(4)确定这些生活史轨迹中的加性遗传、环境、母体和队列变异/协变的模式。该项目的数据来自持续监测的野生狐猴种群。分子、人口统计学和数量遗传技术将被用来描述生态和遗传因素，这些因素形成了生活史特征中的变异和协变。该项目产生的成果将有助于人口模型的发展，这些模型能够通过纳入相关的生态和遗传数据，对人口的持久性作出现实的预测。该项目的结果还将用于确定哪些人口特征影响人口增长，从而为保护决策和管理战略提供参考。因此，这一提议的结果将对保护生物学产生理论和应用上的影响。马达加斯加公民将接受捕获方法培训，项目成果将纳入波士顿大学的学术课程。

Understanding the ecological and genetic factors that shape variation in life history traits is a central challenge in life history studies. This challenge is particularly acute in populations structured by age and sex. Although numerous studies receive their theoretical rationale from a life history perspective, only a few empirical studies show how life history traits are shaped by biotic and abiotic factors, and how these traits, in turn, affect population growth and evolutionary dynamics. At present, insights into the proximate mechanisms that shape life history schedules within populations come from a handful of easily manipulated and/or captive organisms that have relatively "fast" life history schedules. Understanding of which life history traits are key determinants of fitness remains poorly characterized for long-lived, slowly sexually maturing species such as most primates. The research aims of this proposal are: (1) To determine how life history traits are influenced by genetic, sex-specific, and ecological factors in a species with a slow life history schedule; (2) To determine which of these life history traits are currently under selection; (3) To determine patterns of phenotypic variation/covariation in these life history traits (4) To determine patterns of additive genetic, environmental, maternal, and cohort variation/covariation in these life history traits.The data for this project come from a continuously monitored population of wild lemur, Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi). Molecular, demographic, and quantitative genetic techniques will be employed to characterize the ecological and genetic factors that shape variation and covariation in life history traits. Results generated from this project will contribute to the development of demographic models that are capable of making realistic projections of population persistence by incorporating relevant ecological and genetic data. Results from this project will also be used to inform conservation decisions and management strategies by ascertaining which demographic traits influence population growth. As such, results from this proposal will have both theoretical and applied implications for conservation biology. Madagascar citizens will be trained in capture methods, and project results will be incorporated into the academic curriculum at Boston University.