Evolutionary ecology of breeding systems and life history: from individual to population responses in fish

生态学家和保护生物学家面临的一个主要挑战是了解塑造个体变异性和影响种群丰富度的过程，特别是在应对自然和人类驱动的环境变化时。拟议的研究计划使用大西洋鲑鱼、褐鲑鱼和大西洋鳕鱼作为实验研究的模型系统来探索这些过程。涉及一系列方法，从受控实验室实验到大规模田间实验，再到探索个体和群体特征的表达的分子分析，特别是当它们与生殖有关时。目的是更充分地了解生殖行为、后代成功和种群生产力之间的联系，以及如何将这种理解应用于养护生物学和渔业管理。 这项研究主要有三个目的。第一个是探索为什么种群中的单个动物可能会有完全不同的生活史。例如，为什么一些鱼在成熟之前就迁徙到海洋中，而另一些鱼则永远不离开淡水？我建议在大西洋鲑鱼身上测试这一点，并研究迁徙的好处和成本(生长、存活、繁殖和后代的资源)。第二个目标是了解为什么有些鱼产大卵，而另一些鱼产小卵，以及这如何影响下一代鱼类的丰度。一个相关的目的是调查为什么大西洋鳕鱼等鱼类在繁殖季节产生不同类型的卵，以及这对后代存活的影响是什么。最终目标是应用上述知识来了解物种如何入侵新的环境，如纽芬兰的褐鲑鱼，以及如何更好地恢复濒危种群，如芬迪湾的大西洋鲑鱼。

A major challenge for ecologists and conservation biologists is to understand processes that shape variability among individuals and influence population abundances, particularly in response to natural and human-driven environmental change. The proposed research program explores these processes using Atlantic salmon, brown trout and Atlantic cod as model systems for experimental study. A range of approaches are involved, from controlled laboratory experiments to large-scale field experiments to molecular analyses that explore the expression of individual and population characteristics, particularly as they relate to reproduction. The aim is to more fully understand the linkages among reproductive behaviour, offspring success and the productivity of populations, and how this understanding may be applied to conservation biology and fisheries management. There are three main objectives to the research. The first is to explore why individual animals within a population may undertake completely different life histories. For example, why do some fish migrate to the ocean before they mature and others never leave fresh water? I propose to test this in Atlantic salmon and examine the benefits and costs of migration (growth, survival, reproduction and resources for offspring). The second objective is to understand why some fish produce large eggs and others small eggs, and how this affects the abundance of fish the next generation. An associated aim is to investigate why fish, such as Atlantic cod, produce different types of eggs during the course of the breeding season and what are the implications for offspring survival. The final objective is apply the knowledge garnered above to understand how species invade new environments, such as brown trout in Newfoundland, and how to better restore endangered populations, such as those of the Atlantic salmon in the Bay of Fundy.