DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Determining the effect of hybridization on the evolvability of phenotypic traits using genomic markers

杂交具有创造和破坏遗传多样性的能力，因此可以促进或阻碍一个物种承受不断变化的环境条件的能力。由于这种二元性，杂交在自然界中的进化作用尚不清楚。本研究将利用高通量测序技术的最新发展来研究吊带蛇广泛辐射的杂交进化后果。该模型系统既展示了过去的杂交特征，也展示了目前正在进行的复制杂交特征。关于杂交对进化的影响的理论预测将通过将基因组数据与适应性性状的变异联系起来进行检验。这种变异是进化的原料，因此也是衡量一个种群适应不断变化的环境的能力的最有用的标准。了解杂交对进化潜力的影响对入侵物种（通常是杂交起源）的管理和濒危物种（通常受到杂交威胁）的保护至关重要。这项研究将有助于将预测理论框架与自然研究系统联系起来，这是使理论可用于应用管理决策的重要一步。此外，这项研究将用于解决标准教学方法的失败，将孟德尔遗传学与复杂性状的进化联系起来。通过向学生介绍这个重要但经常被忽视的步骤，本项目将有助于解决关于进化过程的普遍误解。

Hybridization has the power to create and destroy genetic diversity, and consequently can facilitate or hinder a species' ability to withstand changing environmental conditions. Because of this duality, the evolutionary role of hybridization in nature is poorly understood. This research will utilize recent developments in high-throughput sequencing to examine the evolutionary consequences of hybridization in a widespread radiation of garter snakes. This model system demonstrates the signature of hybridization in the past, as well as ongoing, replicated hybridization in the present. Theoretical predictions regarding the consequences of hybridization on evolution will be tested by connecting genomic data with variation in adaptive traits. Such variation is the raw material for evolution and consequently, the most useful measure of a population's ability to adapt to changing conditions. Understanding the effect of hybridization on evolutionary potential is of critical importance to management of invasive species (which are frequently of hybrid origin) and the conservation of threatened species (which are often threatened by hybridization). This study will help connect a predictive theoretical framework with a natural study system, an essential step towards making theory operational for applied management decisions. Furthermore, this research will be used to address the failure of standard teaching methods to connect Mendelian genetics with the evolution of complex traits. By introducing students to this important but often neglected step, this project will help address widespread misunderstandings about the evolutionary process.