Collaborative Research: RUI: Evaluating Form-Function-Fitness Relationships in Polyphenic Bluegill

运动和进食是大多数动物生存和繁殖的基本行为。然而，为什么种群中的一些个体比其他个体表现更好，更适合它们的栖息地，人们知之甚少。蓝鳃翻车鱼的种群通常根据它们的栖息地分为两种不同的体型：一种是较深的浅水体型，一种是流线型的深水体型。这种变化为研究形式、功能和对栖息地的适应之间的关系创造了一个理想的系统。该项目将整合野外行为研究，外部和内部形态学和肌肉生理学，能量代谢，游泳表现，进食力学和健康测量，以量化来自远洋和沿海栖息地的单一种群的游泳和进食表现的变化。这项研究的结果将为鱼类的身体形态、游泳和摄食性能和健康之间复杂的相互关系提供前所未有的见解。此外，这项研究将提供一个可应用于任何动物系统的实验和分析框架。该提案是三所文科院校的合作成果，因此项目的一个重要组成部分将是博士后研究员的指导和本科生的培训，其中很大一部分人将继续在研究生或专业学校接受教育，增加了在科学领域代表性不足的群体的参与。这项研究将在一个推广项目中实施，旨在向邻近学校代表性不足的K-12学生介绍生物力学和生理学的基本概念。

Locomotion and feeding are essential behaviors for the survival and reproductive fitness of most animals. However, little is understood about why some individuals within a population outperform others and are better suited to their habitat. Populations of bluegill sunfish often diverge into two different body forms based on their habitat: a deeper-bodied shallow water form or a streamlined deep water form. This variation creates an ideal system for investigating the relationships between form, function and adaptation to habitat. This project will integrate studies of behavior in the field, external and internal morphology and muscle physiology, energy metabolism, swimming performance, feeding mechanics and fitness measurements in order to quantify variation in swimming and feeding performance within a single population of bluegill from pelagic and littoral habitats. Results from this research will provide unprecedented insight into the complex interrelationships of body form, swimming and feeding performance and fitness in fish. Moreover, this research will provide an experimental and analytical framework that could be applied to any animal system. This proposal is a collaborative effort among three liberal arts institutions, therefore an important component of the project will be the mentoring of a postdoctoral researcher and the training of undergraduates, a high proportion of whom will continue their education in graduate or professional schools, increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in the sciences. The research will be implemented in an outreach program aimed to introduce basic concepts of biomechanics and physiology to underrepresented K-12 students at neighboring schools.