CAREER: Flexibility, constraints, and selection in repeated ear loss and regain in toads

职业：蟾蜍反复耳损和恢复的灵活性、限制和选择

• 批准号: 1350346
• 负责人: Kim Hoke
• 金额: $ 80.92万
• 依托单位: Colorado State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-07-01 至 2021-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1350346&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Flexibility; constraints; selection; repeated

Most frogs and toads vocalize to communicate, and females typically use hearing to locate mates. Despite how essential tympanic ears are for hearing sound in air, outer and middle ear structures have been lost and regained many times in frogs and toads. This project integrates anatomy, physiology, development, and phylogenetic analyses to investigate the independent gains and losses of ear structures. Relating ear morphology to hearing ability will reveal novel mechanisms of hearing and will characterize the costs and benefits of various anatomical features for hearing low and high pitch sounds. Because the development of ear structures is linked to the development of other skull features, this project will identify changes in the size and shape of skull bones that accompany changes in ear structures. Moreover, developmental analyses will determine specific genetic and cellular changes that cause the loss of outer and middle ear structures, a type of ear defect that is a common cause of human deafness.Integrative analyses of skull features will assess whether associated changes in skulls facilitate the diversity of ear structures, with data publicly available at Digimorph (http://www.digimorph.org/) and the CSU Digital Repository (http://lib.colostate.edu/repository/). The research in this proposal includes natural opportunities to better educate the general public and university students about hearing, biodiversity, and conservation. Within the US, this proposal will be integrated into undergraduate classes as part of a new laboratory approach to teach students to conduct and interpret statistical analyses. In addition, US undergraduates will participate in the research efforts and participate in developing a bilingual museum exhibition about frogs that will be displayed at one or more US science museums. The Ecuadorian toad breeding program and a related Ecuadorian museum exhibition will contribute to amphibian conservation at a key moment when road-building and resource extraction threaten to have major impacts on wildlife in Ecuador.

大多数青蛙和蟾蜍都在发声进行交流，而女性通常会使用听力来定位伴侣。尽管鼓膜在空气中的声音中是如何进行的，但外耳和中耳结构在青蛙和蟾蜍中丧失并恢复了很多次。该项目整合了解剖学，生理，发育和系统发育分析，以研究耳朵结构的独立增长和损失。将耳朵形态与听力能力相关联会揭示出新颖的听力机制，并将表征各种解剖学特征的成本和收益，以听取低音调和高音调声音。由于耳朵结构的发展与其他头骨特征的发展有关，因此该项目将确定伴随耳朵结构变化的头骨骨骼的大小和形状变化。 Moreover, developmental analyses will determine specific genetic and cellular changes that cause the loss of outer and middle ear structures, a type of ear defect that is a common cause of human deafness.Integrative analyses of skull features will assess whether associated changes in skulls facilitate the diversity of ear structures, with data publicly available at Digimorph (http://www.digimorph.org/) and the CSU Digital Repository （http://lib.colostate.edu/repository/）。 该提案中的研究包括自然的机会，可以更好地教育公众和大学生关于听力，生物多样性和保护的机会。在美国内部，该提案将被整合到本科班级中，作为一种新的实验室方法的一部分，以教学学生进行和解释统计分析。此外，美国的本科生将参加研究工作，并参与建立双语博物馆展览，内容涉及将在一个或多个美国科学博物馆展出的青蛙展览。厄瓜多尔蟾蜍繁殖计划和相关的厄瓜多尔博物馆展览将在关键时刻为两栖动物的保护做出贡献，当时道路建设和资源提取威胁着对厄瓜多尔的野生动植物产生重大影响。