Discrete genetic modules underlie divergent reproductive strategies in three-spined stickleback

A central challenge in biology is to understand how complex behaviors evolve. Reproductive behaviors are frequently subject to strong selection and complex behavioral traits often evolve as an integrated package. However, it is unclear whether suites of traits evolve through a few pleiotropic genetic changes, each affecting many behaviors, or by accumulating several changes that, when combined, give rise to an entire package of correlated traits. Typically, three-spined stickleback exhibit paternal care, a behavior that characterizes the entire Gasterosteidae family. However, an unusual “white” three-spined stickleback ecotype exhibits a suite of traits associated with the evolutionary loss of paternal care. In the white ecotype, males disperse embryos from their nests rather than care for them, build loose nests, exhibit high rates of courtship, and are relatively small in body size. These differences are apparent in stickleback reared in a common garden environment, suggesting the dif..., , # Discrete genetic modules underlie divergent reproductive strategies in three-spined stickleback

## Study summary:

This dataset contains data on three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) that originated from two Nova Scotian populations, referred to as \"whites\" and \"commons\". The populations were hybridized to generate F1 and F2 hybrids, and behavioral measurements were collected on the F2 hybrids to perform QTL mapping. We collected data on body size, territorial aggression, nest architecture, courtship, and parenting behaviors, and genotyped the F2 hybrids via RADseq. Significant QTL peaks and trait variation are reported. See the associated manuscript for more information

## Software information:

The software R is required to run the analyses performed here. R version 4.0.2 was used in these analyses. The following R packages were loaded: qtl, qtlcharts, ggplot2, dplyr, ggpubr, corrplot, gplots, multcompView, cowplot, vegan, plyr, heplots

## Data and File Overview:

The...,