Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JT, United Kingdom.
Evolution. 2011 Mar;65(3):788-801. doi: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2010.01161.x. Epub 2010 Nov 2.
In a seasonal environment, there are multiple aspects of timing, or phenology, that contribute to an individual's fitness. Several studies have shown a genetic basis to variation between individuals in breeding time, but we know little about the heritability of other phenological traits in wild populations. Furthermore, the presence of genetic correlations between phenological variables could act to constrain or promote any response to selection, but less is known of the multivariate genetic relationships underlying phenological traits in the wild. Here, we use data from a wild population of red deer on the Isle of Rum, Scotland, to investigate covariances between eight phenological traits. Variation was characterized at the level of the phenotype, genotype, and year, and traits measured in different sexes enabled us to test for cross-sex genetic correlations. Phenotypic correlations were broadly strong and positive, as were correlations between traits expressed in the same year. We found evidence of significant additive genetic variation in five of the eight phenological traits studied. However there was little evidence of genetic correlations between traits, implying that much of the observed phenotypic correlation was environmentally induced. Our results suggest that different phenological traits may be free to move along independent evolutionary trajectories.
在季节性环境中，有多个与时间相关的方面，即物候学，这些方面都有助于个体的适应性。有几项研究表明，个体在繁殖时间上存在着遗传基础上的差异，但我们对野生种群中其他物候特征的遗传可变性知之甚少。此外，物候变量之间存在遗传相关性可能会限制或促进对选择的任何反应，但我们对野生环境中物候特征的多变量遗传关系了解较少。在这里，我们利用苏格兰朗姆岛红鹿野生种群的数据，研究了八个物候特征之间的协方差。在表型、基因型和年份水平上对变异进行了描述，并且在不同性别中测量的特征使我们能够测试跨性别遗传相关性。表型相关性广泛较强且呈正相关，同年表达的特征之间也呈正相关。我们发现，在所研究的八个物候特征中有五个特征存在显著的加性遗传变异。然而，特征之间几乎没有遗传相关性的证据，这意味着观察到的大部分表型相关性是由环境诱导的。我们的研究结果表明，不同的物候特征可能会沿着独立的进化轨迹自由移动。
