U.S.- U.K. Cooperation Research: Body Composition and Survival in Sturnus Vulgaris

该奖项将支持伊利诺伊州立大学的查尔斯·F·汤普森和牛津大学爱德华·格雷研究所所长克里斯托弗·M·佩林斯之间的美英合作研究。研究人员将研究幼龄和幼年的欧洲八哥体内脂肪储存和存活之间的关系。他们的目的是验证这样的假设，即鸟类的存活率与离巢时的脂肪储存能力呈正相关。脂肪储存能力被认为对许多鸟类的生存至关重要，这些鸟类的后代在能够为自己获取食物之前就离开了巢。研究人员将使用欧洲八哥，广泛用于牛津大学大学农场的生态研究。将收集有关身体成分的数据，并使用TOBEC方法测定脂肪含量，这是一种新的、安全的鸟类生物学测量技术。汤普森博士将他在家禽方面的广泛背景和他在TOBEC方法方面的经验带到了这次合作中。这一点得到了这个英国小组关于鸟类生活史特征进化的背景的补充。爱德华·格雷研究所自20世纪40年代以来一直处于鸟类生物学和生态学的前沿。这项合作研究工作将促进我们对某些鸟类后代条件的变化、它们的存活和最终父母繁殖成功之间的关系的了解。

This award will support U.S.-U.K. cooperative research between Charles F. Thompson of Illinois State University and Christopher M. Perrins, Director of the Edward Grey Institute, Oxford University. The investigators will examine the relationship between body fat stores and survival in fledgling and juvenile European starlings. Their objective is to test the hypothesis that bird survival is positively correlated with fat storage capacity at the time of nest-leaving. Fat storage capacity is thought to be important for survival in many species of birds whose offspring leave the nest before they are capable of obtaining food for themselves. The investigators will employ European starlings, used extensively for ecological research at University Farm of Oxford University. Data on body composition will be collected and fat content will be determined using the TOBEC method, a new, safe measuring technique in avian biology. Dr. Thompson brings to this collaboration his extensive background on the house wren and his experience with the TOBEC method. This is complemented by the British group's background on the evolution of life history traits in birds. The Edward Grey Institute has been at the forefront of avian biology and ecology since the 1940s. This cooperative research effort will advance our knowledge about the relationship between variation in the condition of offspring in certain species of birds, their survival and ultimately the reproductive success of the parents.