DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Evolutionary consequences of behavioral drive and inhibition in a tropical lizard

行为决定了生物体如何与环境相互作用，长期以来一直被认为是进化多样化的领头羊。经典观点认为，行为通过使生物体面临新的选择压力来推动进化。行为也会抑制进化的变化。行为抑制？假说表明，一些行为，如体温调节，帮助生物体维持一个持续的选择性环境，从而消除了即使面对不断变化的环境也需要适应的情况。这项研究测试了一种观点，即单一的行为(栖息使用)可以同时阻碍生理进化，同时推动Anolis Cybotes的形态进化。这种物种是在不同的热环境中发现的，因此研究人员预计它将利用行为来保持恒定的体温。研究人员正在使用一个重复的实验来验证这一假设，比较了多米尼加共和国的A.Cybotes的栖息地利用、生理和形态特征。这项研究是对行为可以同时阻碍和推动不同特征进化这一观点的第一次实证检验。这项研究将提供进化在行动中的一个很好的例子。这项研究将有助于证明，虽然自然选择推动着进化，但行为却是选择性环境的中介。作者将向大众科学文章、公开讲座、科学博客和博物馆展品传播这项研究的结果。这项研究的结果将有助于向政策制定者和自然资源保护者提供物种如何调节热环境的信息，并根据气候变化利用这些数据来保护物种及其环境。

Behavior determines how organisms interact with their environment, and has long been posited as a pacemaker for evolutionary diversification. The classical view is that behavior drives evolution by exposing organisms to new selective pressures. Behavior can also restrain evolutionary change. The ?behavioral inhibition? hypothesis suggests that some behaviors, such as thermoregulation, helps organisms maintain a constant selective environment, obviating the need to adapt even in the face of changing environments. This research tests the idea that a single behavior (perch use) can simultaneously impede physiological evolution while impelling morphological evolution in Anolis cybotes. This species is found in different thermal environments, so the researchers expect that it will use behavior to maintain a constant body temperature. The researchers are using a replicated experiment to test this hypothesis, comparing habitat use, physiological, and morphological characteristics of A. cybotes in the Dominican Republic.This research is the first empirical test of the idea that behavior can simultaneously impede and impel evolution in different traits. This study will provide an excellent example of evolution in action. The research will help show that, while natural selection drives evolution, it is behavior that mediates the selective environment. The authors will disseminate the results of this study to popular scientific articles, public lectures, scientific blogs, and museum exhibits. The results of this study will help inform policy makers and conservationists how species can mediate the thermal environment, and use these data in the light of climate change to protect species and their environments.