Mechanisms of Reproductive Behavior

生殖行为机制

• 批准号: 8706526
• 负责人: Myron Baker
• 金额: $ 14.89万
• 依托单位: Colorado State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1987
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1987-08-15 至 1992-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=8706526&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Mechanisms; Reproductive; Behavior

The theory of natural selection suggests that individuals should possess the ability to evaluate the suitability of mates and make beneficial choices. A beneficial choice leads to maximum production of breeding offspring whereas a poor choice leads to little or no reproductive success. In many species, it is the female sex that makes the choice of a mate; males typically compete among themselves for control of resources important to reproduction and attempt to attract females to their domain. Despite its general importance, the biological bases of mate choice are poorly understood for most animals. In the current research, behavioral and physical characteristics of males and how these traits function in the process of mate choice by females will be studied. Two species of birds have been selected because they are easy to observe in nature, their communication behavior is relatively simple, males learn their vocal "language" much like humans learn speech, and birds can be taken into the laboratory for more controlled experiments to reveal the properties of the communication system. All these reasons make birds one of the most widely used research animals for uncovering the biological principles of social behavior of animals, particularly in the area of communication. Questions that will be addressed include: 1) How do males and females communicate, both visually and vocally, in the context of mate choice and reproduction, 2) do females discriminate among potential mates by their vocal characteristics, their physical characteristics, or both, and 3) what properties of the male are communicated by his vocalizations or by his physical traits and behavior. By field studies in natural populations, and by laboratory experiments with captive males and females, the current research allows a powerful approach to answering these questions.

自然选择理论认为，个体应该具备评估配偶适宜性并做出有益选择的能力。一个有益的选择会带来最大的繁殖后代，而一个糟糕的选择会导致很少或没有繁殖成功。在许多物种中，是雌性决定了配偶的选择；雄性通常会相互竞争，争夺对繁殖至关重要的资源的控制权，并试图将雌性吸引到自己的领地。尽管它具有普遍的重要性，但对于大多数动物来说，择偶的生物学基础却知之甚少。在目前的研究中，将研究雄性的行为和身体特征，以及这些特征如何在雌性选择配偶的过程中发挥作用。之所以选择了两种鸟类，是因为它们在自然界中很容易观察，它们的交流行为相对简单，雄性学习它们的发声语言就像人类学习语音一样，鸟类可以被带到实验室进行更多的受控实验，以揭示交流系统的属性。所有这些原因使鸟类成为最广泛使用的研究动物之一，以揭示动物社会行为的生物学原理，特别是在交流领域。将讨论的问题包括：1)在配偶选择和繁殖的背景下，男性和女性如何在视觉和声音上进行交流；2)女性是否通过他们的声音特征、身体特征或两者兼而有之地区分潜在的伴侣；以及3)通过男性的发声或身体特征和行为来传达男性的哪些属性。通过对自然种群的实地研究，以及对圈养雄性和雌性的实验室实验，目前的研究为回答这些问题提供了一种强有力的方法。