Molecular and behavioural ecology of fishes

了解我们这个世界的生物多样性是生物学的一个基本目标。这种理解的一个主要组成部分是基因在塑造表型多样性中所起的作用——为了理解生物多样性，我们必须理解行为、生理和形态变异的遗传基础。这些知识不仅对纯粹的发现很重要，而且对我们自然资源的有效管理也很重要。拟议的研究将整合来自分子和行为生态学的多种专业知识和研究平台，以解决四个主要研究领域，包括交配系统、识别系统、内分泌学和神经生理学以及功能基因组学。本文以三目三种鱼类（蓝鳃鱼Lepomis macrochirus、奇努克鲑鱼Oncorhynchus tshawytscha和孔雀鱼Poecilia reticulata）为研究对象，从分子到生物在自然环境中的表型多样性提供了全面的认识。具体来说，我们将：(1)描述自然选择和性选择在形成主要组织相容性复合体（MHC）免疫基因遗传多样性中的作用；(2)详细说明个体如何识别其亲属的机制和遗传结构，包括MHC作为“识别等位基因”的作用；(3)揭示类固醇激素和受体在采取不同交配策略和生活史的个体行为中的作用；(4)利用微阵列和实时PCR技术分析与行为变异相关的基因表达模式。我们研究的两种鱼类在加拿大具有重要的社会和经济意义，因此这项研究将具有纯（发现）和应用（保护）两方面的应用。我的实验室致力于培养高素质的人才和出版高质量的出版物。拟开展的工作将涉及6名博士生、4名硕士生、5名本科生论文学生、1名研究技术员和本科生助理。这些学生将在分子和行为生态学研究的各个方面接受广泛的培训，这将使他们成为能够进入学术界，政府和私营部门的高素质和需求人才。

Understanding our world's biodiversity is a fundamental objective of biology. One principle component to this understanding is the role that genes play in shaping phenotypic diversity - to understand biodiversity we must understand the genetic basis of behavioural, physiological and morphological variation. Such knowledge is important not only for pure discovery, but also for the effective management of our natural resources. The proposed research will integrate multiple expertise and research platforms from molecular and behavioural ecology to address four major areas of research comprising mating systems, recognition systems, endocrinology and neurophysiology, and functional genomics. We will use three fish species (bluegill Lepomis macrochirus, Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, and guppy Poecilia reticulata) from three orders to provide a comprehensive understanding of phenotypic diversity from molecules to organisms living in their natural environment. Specifically, we will: (1) characterize the roles of natural and sexual selection in shaping genetic diversity in immune genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC); (2) detail the mechanisms and genetic architecture of how individuals recognize their kin, including the role of the MHC as 'recognition alleles'; (3) uncover the roles of steroid hormones and receptors in the behaviour of individuals that adopt different mating tactics and life histories; and (4) implement microarray and real-time PCR technology to profile gene expression patterns associated with the behavioural variation. Two of the fishes we study are socially and economically important in Canada, and thus the research will have both pure (discovery) and applied (conservation) applications. My lab is dedicated to training highly qualified personnel and generating publications of the highest quality. The proposed work will involve 6 PhD students, 4 MSc students, 5 undergraduate thesis students, 1 research technician, and undergraduate assistants. These students will receive extensive training in all aspects of research within molecular and behavioural ecology, which will make them highly qualified and demanded personnel capable of entering academic, government and private sectors.