Phillips, PatrickGaertner, Bryn2012-10-262014-12-292012https://hdl.handle.net/1794/12385In a heterogeneous environment where temperature influences fitness, individuals must navigate to a thermal optimum to maximize reproductive output and minimize physiological stress. However, the optimal temperature varies among individuals due to genetic and environmental contributions. The neural and genetic basis to such natural variation in behavior has remained elusive in most cases, as the high-throughput genomic, neurodevelopmental, and behavioral techniques were not developed. Using the nematodeen-USAll Rights Reserved.BehaviorEvolutionary biologyNeurodevelopmentQuantitative geneticsElectronic Thesis or Dissertation