Reproductive ecology of boreal fishes

生物体表现出各种各样的繁殖策略。有的一生只繁殖一次，有的则繁殖多次；有些产生大量的非常小的后代，而另一些只产生少数非常大的后代。了解这些生殖策略如何随着环境条件的变化而进化是生态学研究的一个核心问题。我的研究将集中在后代数量和质量的特殊生殖性状上，我的研究生物将是居住在加拿大北方盾区的淡水鱼。在鱼类中，后代在早期生存的可能性在很大程度上取决于它们母亲所产蛋的大小和成分。我的目标是量化这些野生鱼类的卵数量和质量的变化，并测试当前理论关于环境力量如何塑造这些特征的预测。在我的指导下，研究生和本科生将通过一系列实地和实验室研究项目来实现这一目标。这项研究的结果将进一步加深我们对卵子质量变化的机制的理解，以及对生命史特征进化的理解。研究结果也将证明对渔业管理和水产养殖有益。

Living organisms exhibit a wide variety of reproductive strategies. Some reproduce once in their lives, others reproduce many times; some produce large numbers of very small offspring whereas others produce only a few very large offspring. Understanding how these reproductive strategies evolve in response to changing environmental conditions is a central issue in ecological research. My research will focus on the particular reproductive traits of offspring quantity and quality, and my study organisms will be the freshwater fishes inhabiting the boreal shield region of Canada. In fishes, the probability that offspring will survive through early life is largely determined by the size and composition of egg produced by their mothers. My objective is to quantify variation in egg quantity and quality in these wild fishes, and test predictions from current theory on how environmental forces are shaping these traits. This objective will be met through a series of field- and laboratory-based research projects carried out by graduate and undergraduate students under my supervision. The results of this research will further our understanding of the mechanisms driving egg quality variation, and of the evolution of life history characteristics in general. The results will also prove beneficial to fisheries management and aquaculture.