DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The genetic basis of adaptive burrowing behavior

大多数动物表现出与生俱来的行为--这些行为受到遗传学的强烈影响，并没有严格地传授或学习。如果这些与生俱来的行为有助于表现出这种行为的个体的不同生殖成功，那么它们就可以进化。这个项目的重点是研究基因变化如何导致两种小鼠之间先天挖洞行为的差异。鹿鼠只建造一个只有一个短入口隧道的小洞穴，而它们的姊妹物种奥德菲尔德鼠(小儿麻痹症)则建造既有入口又有逃生隧道的长洞。长长的入口隧道和增加的逃生隧道可能是为了在奥德菲尔德老鼠栖息的稀疏植被的栖息地避开捕食者而进行的适应。通过杂交这两个物种，并用分子和统计工具检查杂交后代的行为，这项研究将回答两个主要问题：有多少基因和哪些基因导致奥德菲尔德老鼠洞穴的长度和逃逸通道的增加？初步结果表明，只有几个基因的变化可能解释了洞穴形状和大小的大部分差异。总而言之，这项研究旨在剖析自然种群中与生态相关的行为的遗传基础。对这两个物种洞穴行为背后的遗传学的详细了解将为研究遗传学和进化适应行为提供一个经验框架。这项研究的更广泛的影响包括：(1)让本科生参与研究；(2)通过博物馆展品向公众解释行为和基因研究的方法及其重要性。

Most animals display innate behaviors - behaviors that are strongly influenced by genetics and are not strictly taught or learned. These innate behaviors can evolve if they contribute to differential reproductive success of individuals that display the behavior. The focus of this project is to examine how genetic changes lead to differences in innate burrowing behavior between two species of mice. Deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) build small burrows with only a single, short entrance tunnel, while their sister species, oldfield mice (P. polionotus), construct long burrows with both an entrance and an escape tunnel. The long entrance tunnel and addition of an escape tunnel are probably adaptations for avoiding predators in the sparsely vegetated habitat that oldfield mice occupy. By interbreeding these two species and examining the behavior of hybrid offspring with molecular and statistical tools, this research will answer two primary questions: how many and which genes contribute to the increased length and escape tunnels seen in oldfield mouse burrows? Preliminary results suggest that changes in only a few genes may explain most of the differences in burrow shape and size. Overall, this research aims to dissect the genetic basis of an ecologically-relevant behavior in natural populations of mice.A detailed understanding of the genetics underlying burrowing in these two species will provide an empirical framework for studying the genetics and evolution adaptive behaviors in general. The broader impacts of this research include: (1) engaging undergraduate students in research, and (2) explaining both the methods of behavioral and genetic research and its importance to the public through museum exhibits.