DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The food matrix mediates carotenoid tradeoffs in a reverse-dimorphic cichlid

论文研究：食物基质介导反向二态慈鲷中类胡萝卜素的权衡

• 批准号: 1209744
• 负责人: Ethan Clotfelter
• 金额: $ 1.48万
• 依托单位: Amherst College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-09-01 至 2014-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1209744&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; food; matrix; mediates

Most red, orange and yellow coloration in vertebrate animals is the result of carotenoid pigments. Vertebrates cannot synthesize carotenoids and instead must obtain them from their diet, but carotenoids also play important roles in reducing oxidative stress and supporting the immune system. The carotenoid trade-off hypothesis predicts that when dietary carotenoids are limited, animals must sacrifice coloration or immunity. Many published studies of the carotenoid trade-off hypothesis cite the assumption that dietary carotenoids are limiting, but this statement is largely untested. Likewise, little is known about carotenoid trade-offs in females of species with reversed sexual dichromatism, i.e. species in which females are more brightly colored than males. Females have an additional competing need for carotenoids, namely that the pigments can be incorporated into egg yolk and passed on to their offspring. This proposal seeks to use a combination of laboratory and field studies to understand the complex relationship between carotenoid absorption, sexual coloration, and somatic maintenance in pigmented females by developing a statistical model to predict carotenoid availability and allocation in the wild. The proposed study will address these questions using the convict cichlid (Amatitlania nigrofasciata), a well-studied Central American fish in which females have carotenoid-based ventral coloration. The proposed study would use field work to design a simultaneous equations model on which to base future laboratory studies of the interaction between environmental carotenoid availability and the food matrix in carotenoid-pigmented species. Development of a statistical model for carotenoid absorption will allow other researchers to place their work on the carotenoid trade-off hypothesis into a theoretical context, in addition to having implications for fish health in ornamental and food fish farming, both multi-million dollar industries in the United States.

脊椎动物动物中的大多数红色，橙色和黄色是类胡萝卜素色素的结果。 脊椎动物不能合成类胡萝卜素，而必须从饮食中获得它们，但是类胡萝卜素在减少氧化应激和支持免疫系统方面也起着重要作用。 类胡萝卜素权衡假设预测，当饮食类胡萝卜素受到限制时，动物必须牺牲色彩或免疫力。 许多关于类胡萝卜素权衡假设的研究提到了以下假设：饮食类胡萝卜素是限制的，但这种说法在很大程度上未经测试。 同样，对于具有反向性二色症的雌性的类胡萝卜素折衷，即女性比男性更鲜艳的物种。 雌性对类胡萝卜素有更多的竞争需求，即可以将颜料掺入蛋黄中并传递给其后代。 该提案试图结合实验室和现场研究，以了解类胡萝卜素吸收，性着色和色素女性中的体细胞维持之间的复杂关系，通过开发统计模型来预测野外类胡萝卜素的可用性和分配。 拟议的研究将使用定罪丽鱼科（Amatitlania nigrofasciata）解决这些问题，这是一种经过充分研究的中美洲鱼，雌性具有基于类胡萝卜素的腹侧颜色。 拟议的研究将使用现场工作来设计一个同时的方程模型，以此来基于未来的实验室研究，以了解环境类胡萝卜素可用性与类胡萝卜素色素色素物种中的食物基质之间的相互作用。 开发类胡萝卜素吸收的统计模型将使其他研究人员能够将其工作放在类胡萝卜素权衡假设上，除了对美国数百万美元工业的观赏性和食品养鱼养殖中对鱼类健康具有影响。