Dimorphic Traits and Evolution of Behavior

摘要当代社会系统生物学研究采用了结合进化和行为的跨学科方法，揭示了两性特征影响异性的一般原理。更充分地了解雄性和雌性的不同特征（包括行为特征）如何影响其他动物的行为和生物学上的成功，这在许多应用领域都很重要，特别是在为濒危物种设计最佳繁殖计划方面。从长远来看，对这些基本生物过程的充分理解将为理解包括人类在内的其他物种中雄性和雌性的相互作用提供线索。韦斯特尼特博士将采用实验操作，观察自由生活个体的行为，并分析行为的遗传后果，以提供对雄性和雌性之间相互作用的进化力量的理解。将对红翼黑鹂进行五项实验。其中三人将利用分子遗传学技术，研究自由生活的雄性个体的外貌差异如何影响交配成功的三个组成部分（在领地上筑巢的雌性数量、领地所有者产下的幼崽比例以及在其他雄性领地产下的幼崽数量）。另外两个实验将测试影响女性对男性反应的不同因素。韦斯特尼特博士的研究将帮助我们理解在男女互动的背景下，外表和行为之间关系的进化结果。

IBN 9318246 Westneat ABSTRACT Contemporary biological studies of social systems, which take an interdisciplinary approach combining evolution and behavior, have revealed that there are general principles underlying the ways in which characteristics of each sex can affect the other sex. Fuller understanding of how those traits in which males and females differ, including behavioral traits, influence both the actions of other animals and biological success are important in a number of applied areas, particularly in designing optimal breeding programs for endangered species. In the long run, a full understanding of these basic biological processes will provide clues to understanding male and female interactions in other species, including humans. Dr. Westneat will employ experimental manipulations, observations of the behavior of free-living individuals, and analyses of the genetic consequences of behavior to provide an understanding of the evolutionary forces acting on the interactions between males and females. Five experiments on red-winged blackbirds will be carried out. Three will investigate how individual variation in appearance among free-living males affects three components of mating success (number of females nesting on the territory, proportion of their young sired by the territory owner, and number of young sired in other males' territories) using molecular genetic techniques. The other two experiments will test different factors that influence female responses to males. Dr. Westneat's research will help us comprehend the evolutionary consequences of the relationship between appearance and behavior in the context of male-female interactions.