Dissertation Research: Do egg size effects cascade through salamander ontogeny? Allometric engineering of maternal provisioning

论文研究：卵大小效应是否会通过蝾螈个体发育产生级联效应？

• 批准号: 0808300
• 负责人: Carl Schlichting
• 金额: $ 1.2万
• 依托单位: University of Connecticut
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-06-01 至 2010-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0808300&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; Do; egg; size

Maternal investment in amphibian offspring varies a great deal among species, individuals and environments. However, larger egg size comes at the cost of producing fewer offspring. Furthermore, egg size variation in nature is often accompanied by differences in larval morphology and behavior (phenotype). The mechanistic relationship between egg size and larval phenotype remains controversial because species also differ in genetic and environmentally-induced traits. This project will examine experimentally the effects of egg size on larval phenotype in salamanders in which egg size evolutionarily doubled after a pond breeding species invaded streams. By surgically removing yolk from embryos, the effect of maternal investment on the phenotype will be assessed in light of stream adaptations. Specifically, we will examine egg size effects on hatching time and stage, body size and shape, escape performance and survival rates, and time to metamorphosis.The intellectual merit of this research includes developing a powerful experimental research technique for studying a major component of amphibian life history evolution that can help identify correlated traits that respond to egg size. Broader impacts include training of a graduate student, six undergraduates with diverse backgrounds, and broad dissemination of the results - from YouTube to local, national and international meetings, and publication in peer-reviewed journals.

在两栖动物后代的孕产妇投资在物种，个体和环境中有很大不同。但是，较大的鸡蛋尺寸的代价是产生更少的后代。此外，性质的卵大小变化通常伴随着幼虫形态和行为（表型）的差异。卵大小与幼虫表型之间的机械关系仍然存在争议，因为物种在遗传和环境引起的特征上也有所不同。该项目将在实验中检查鸡蛋大小对sal的幼虫表型的影响，在sal中，鸡蛋大小在池塘繁殖物种入侵的溪流后进化增加了一倍。通过手术从胚胎中去除蛋黄，将根据流的适应性评估产妇投资对表型的影响。具体而言，我们将检查卵大小对孵化时间和阶段，体型和形状，逃生性能和生存率以及变态的时间的影响。这项研究的智力优点包括开发一种强大的实验研究技术，用于研究两栖动物生活历史发展的主要组成部分，可以帮助识别对鸡蛋大小的相关性状。更广泛的影响包括对研究生的培训，六名本科生，具有不同背景的本科生以及对结果的广泛传播 - 从YouTube到本地，国家和国际会议，以及在同行评审期刊上出版。