RUI: A theoretical and empirical investigation of optimal mating strategies in a hermaphrodite

生物体如何以及为什么将资源分配给不同的功能，如生长、维持和繁殖，是它们生物学的一个基本方面。了解分配模式解决了关于各种植物和动物进化的基本问题。生物体彼此交配的方式(它们的交配系统)往往与它们分配资源的方式有关。例如，在一只雄性与多只雌性交配的物种中，雄性可能表现出特定的特征，这些特征增加了它们成功获得配偶的机会。在一些物种中，例如淡水蜗牛，个体同时是雄性和雌性，因此如果没有配偶，可以选择自交。之前的研究已经得出了一种预测性理论，该理论将生物交配的方式(有/没有伴侣)与它们如何生长和何时成熟联系在一起。在这个为期三年的跨学科研究项目中，这一理论将通过数学建模和使用蜗牛的实验测试相结合的方式进行扩展和验证。该项目还将促进对不同本科生和高中教师的跨学科教育。交配系统的表达和进化与其他生活史特征密切相关。许多物种的个体可能能够根据交配伙伴的可用性来改变它们的资源分配，交配模式本身可以影响个体何时开始繁殖以及它们分配给配子生产和交配吸引的数量。这方面的一个具体例子是可以通过自交或异交繁殖的同时的两性个体：如果没有配偶，喜欢异交的个体可能会推迟繁殖的开始。在这个项目中，研究人员将开发一系列数学模型，以探索各种现实而复杂的环境因素在决定生活史表达和进化中所起的作用。他们将探索(1)人口随机性，(2)诱导防御，以及(3)空间结构对最佳生活史策略的表达和演变的影响。每个模型都将与使用开发良好的实验系统(淡水蜗牛)进行的经验测试配对，该系统将允许对模型结果进行测试。总体而言，该项目将提高个体生活史策略和交配系统如何相互作用的预测和解释能力。

How and why organisms allocate resources to different functions such as growth, maintenance and reproduction is a fundamental aspect of their biology. Understanding patterns of allocation addresses fundamental questions about the evolution of a wide variety of plants and animals. The way that organisms mate with each other (their mating system) is often related to the way they allocate resources. For example, in species where a single male mates with multiple females, males may express particular traits that increase their chance of successfully obtaining a mate. In some species, such as freshwater snails, individuals are male and female at the same time, and therefore have the option to self-fertilize if no mates are available. Previous research has resulted in a predictive theory that relates the way organisms mate (with/without a partner) to how they grow and when they become mature. In this three-year interdisciplinary research project, this theory with be extended and tested using a combination of mathematical modeling and experimental tests using snails. The project will also promote cross-disciplinary education of diverse undergraduate students and high school teachers. There is a close relationship between the expression and evolution of the mating system and other life-history traits. Individuals of many species may be able to alter their allocation of resources based on the availability of mating partners, and the pattern of mating itself can affect when individuals initiate reproduction and how much they allocate to gamete production and mate attraction. A particular example of this is revealed by simultaneous hermaphrodites that can reproduce by self-fertilization or outcrossing: Individuals that prefer to outcross may delay the initiation of reproduction if mates are not available. In this project, the researchers will develop a series of mathematical models to explore the role that a variety of realistic yet complicated environmental factors play in determining life-history expression and evolution. They will explore the consequences of (1) demographic stochasticity, (2) inducible defenses, and (3) spatial structure on the expression and evolution of optimal life-history strategies. Each model will be paired with an empirical test using a well-developed experimental system (freshwater snails) that will allow a test of the model results. Collectively, the project will improve the predictive and explanatory power of how individual life-history strategies and the mating system interact.