Dissertation Research: Developmental Origins and Evolutionary Consequences of Modularity in a Complex Trait

University Of Arizona, Tucson AZ

Investigators

Abstract

A major goal of biology is to understand how animal diversity is generated. Morphological diversity evolves through changes in development among species which could be due to either differences in the genes responsible for growth or variation in the environment under which individuals develop. This project seeks to understand how differences in environment during growth generate adaptive changes in adult form. Specifically, this study examines the effect of variation in diet on jaw growth and diversification across species of shrews, small insect eating mammals. Jaw structure in shrews has been shown to differ across environments and is thus a model system to test how environmental differences can produce changes in growth. Changes in jaw growth resulting from differences in diet will be tested experimentally by raising sibling shrews on two diets differing in hardness of prey, and measuring differences in jaw growth, form, and function between the groups. This research conceptually and methodologically integrates fields of development, morphological evolution, and animal form and function to elucidate how changes in growth and development within a species ultimately generate diversity among species and thus has important implications for understanding the consequences of environmental change on animal diversity. During the course of this study, several undergraduate students will be trained in advanced field and laboratory techniques.