DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Behavioral and genomic evidence for reproductive isolation between two sister species of Peromyscus

Harvard University, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

The primary objective of the proposed research is to determine how behavioral changes?specifically changes in preferences for mates?contribute to the evolution of new species. This study focuses on a pair of two closely related North American species, the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) and the cotton mouse (P. gossypinus), which have accumulated few genetic differences between them yet differ in mating preferences. Using a combination of behavioral mate choice tests and genetic analysis, this research aims to determine: (1) the degree to which different mating preferences between P. leucopus and P. gossypinus prevent gene exchange under controlled laboratory conditions, and (2) the genetic basis of those behavioral differences. By studying what types of genetic changes produce behaviors that prevent species from hybridizing, we can learn how behavior evolves as well as quantify its role in the formation of new species. The results from the proposed research will improve our overall understanding of life?s diversity, and will be used to create several family programs and a display case in the Evolution exhibit for the Harvard Museum of Natural History.