DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Local adaptation of the integrated phenotype: can life history and physiology mediate behavioral evolution?

生物体的形式和功能是通过从生长和繁殖到对环境刺激的行为和荷尔蒙反应的各种特征之间的复杂相互作用而产生的。在这个全球气候变化和前所未有的生态系统扰动的时代，准确预测生物长期如何对环境变化做出反应是至关重要的。性状整合的程度，它们共同变化的程度，最终决定了一个种群对环境压力的反应。研究人员利用红树林小溪鱼的生殖系统，这种鱼生活在濒危的红树林生态系统中，能够产生在基因上与亲本和所有兄弟姐妹完全相同的后代，以非凡的分辨率确定生活史(例如生长、繁殖)、行为(例如攻击性、冒险)和形态(例如形状、大小)特征在表型和遗传水平上是如何变化的。他们预计不同群体在特质网络的组成和相互联系方面存在差异，这将为自然、社区和社会环境对特质整合产生强烈影响提供证据。研究人员还试图了解特征整合背后的机制。类固醇，如雄激素、睾酮和应激激素皮质醇，会同时影响多种性状的表达。因此，研究人员希望发现荷尔蒙特征和特征整合模式之间的联系。这项研究将红树林小溪的遗传学知识与行为、生态和生理技术相结合，探索生物学中的核心问题，复杂的表型是如何组织的，以及我们如何预测表型对环境变化的反应？通过将生物体作为一个整体来研究，我们可以对生态系统的干扰如何影响当地的动植物做出更准确的预测。研究人员将参与外展活动，教育公众有关红树林生态系统居民、对生态系统的威胁，以及从基础生物探索中获得的知识如何改变我们的日常活动，并在个人、社区和国家层面推动积极变化。数据将在(http://datadryad.org).)上维护和提供

Organismal form and function arises through complex interactions among traits ranging from growth and reproduction to behavioral and hormonal responses to environmental stimuli. In this time of global climate change and unprecedented ecosystem disturbance, accurately predicting how organisms respond over the long-term to environmental change is essential. The degree to which traits are integrated, how strongly they covary, ultimately dictates a population's response to environmental pressures. The investigators capitalize on the reproductive system of mangrove rivulus, a fish that inhabits imperiled mangrove ecosystems and is capable of producing offspring genetically identical to the parent and all siblings, to determine with exceptional resolution how life history (e.g., growth, reproduction), behavioral (e.g., aggression, risk-taking), and morphological (e.g., shape, size) traits covary at the phenotypic and genetic levels. They expect differences among populations in the composition and interconnectedness of trait networks, which would provide evidence that the physical, community, and social environments exert strong influences on trait integration. The investigators also seek to understand the mechanisms underlying trait integration. Steroids like the androgen testosterone and the stress hormone cortisol influence the expression of multiple traits simultaneously. Thus, the investigators expect to uncover linkages between hormone profiles and patterns of trait integration. This study combines an integral knowledge of the mangrove rivulus' genetics with behavioral, ecological, and physiological techniques, to explore central questions in biology, how are complex phenotypes organized and how can we predict phenotypic responses to environmental change? By studying organisms as integrated wholes we can derive more accurate predictions about how ecosystem disturbances impact native flora and fauna. The investigators will participate in outreach activities to educate the public about mangrove ecosystem inhabitants, threats to the ecosystem, and how knowledge gained from basic biological exploration can transform our everyday activities and drive positive changes at the individual, community, and national levels.Data will be maintained and available at (http://datadryad.org).