Visual Communication and Species Recognition

视觉传达和物种识别

• 批准号: 8920013
• 负责人: George Uetz
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Cincinnati Main Campus
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1990
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1990-09-01 至 1993-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=8920013&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Visual; Communication; Species; Recognition

Dr. Uetz and Mr. Clark will investigate visual communication behavior and its role in species recognition in salticid spiders, which have well-developed vision. Experiments will be performed to study the relative importance of morphology (form, coloration, markings) and species-specific behavior patterns (movement, sequence) of courting males in eliciting responses from females. Using a newly-developed method, Dr. Uetz and Mr. Clark will investigate the interaction of morphology and behavior in courtship of Maevia inclemens, a salticid spider that has two distinct male forms differing in appearance and behavior. Courtship behavior sequences of males of both types will be videotaped, digitized, and stored on the computer. Morphological characteristics and behavioral patterns of the two morphs will then be experimentally manipulated using computer/video animation techniques, and presented to female spiders on microtelevision screens. Responses of female spiders to various combinations of these computer-generated video images, as well as to videotapes of real spiders, will be studied. By experimentally separating form and behavior, and recombining them in novel combinations, Dr. Uetz and Mr. Clark will be able to have complete control over stimuli presented to the female (which is not possible with live male spiders), and to identify critical visual elements involved in courtship of this unique spider. These experimental studies will allow Dr. Uetz and Mr. Clark to test hypotheses about animal communication and its adaptive functions, and will contribute to better understanding of species-recognition mechanisms. In addition, the development of this powerful new computer-assisted technique for studying animal behavior has enormous potential for a number of areas of investigation, including mate choice, agonistic behavior, visual perception, and neurophysiology.

尤茨博士和克拉克先生将研究视觉交流行为及其在杀盐蜘蛛物种识别中的作用，这些蜘蛛具有发达的视觉。 将进行实验来研究求偶雄性的形态（形状、颜色、标记）和物种特定的行为模式（运动、顺序）在引起雌性反应方面的相对重要性。 Uetz 博士和 Clark 先生将使用一种新开发的方法来研究 Maevia inclemens 求爱过程中形态和行为的相互作用，Maevia inclemens 是一种盐蜘蛛，有两种不同的雄性形态，外观和行为各不相同。 这两种雄性的求爱行为序列将被录像、数字化并存储在计算机上。 然后，将使用计算机/视频动画技术对这两种变形的形态特征和行为模式进行实验操作，并在微型电视屏幕上呈现给雌性蜘蛛。 将研究雌性蜘蛛对这些计算机生成的视频图像的各种组合以及对真实蜘蛛的录像带的反应。 通过实验性地分离形态和行为，并将它们重新组合成新颖的组合，尤茨博士和克拉克先生将能够完全控制向雌性蜘蛛提供的刺激（这对于活的雄性蜘蛛来说是不可能的），并识别这种独特蜘蛛求爱过程中涉及的关键视觉元素。 这些实验研究将使尤茨博士和克拉克先生能够测试有关动物交流及其适应性功能的假设，并将有助于更好地理解物种识别机制。 此外，这种用于研究动物行为的强大的新型计算机辅助技术的发展在许多研究领域具有巨大的潜力，包括配偶选择、竞争行为、视觉感知和神经生理学。