Behavioral Energetics and Metabolic Competence

行为能量学和代谢能力

• 批准号: 9321326
• 负责人: Paul Watson
• 金额: $ 6.02万
• 依托单位: University of New Mexico
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1994
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1994-07-15 至 1996-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9321326&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Behavioral; Energetics; Metabolic; Competence

Female animals generally are selective in choosing their mates. To understand how natural selection shapes this kind of behavior, it is important to find out how the mate preferences of females affect the viability of their offspring. The aim of this research is to reveal whether the mate-selection system of female sierra dome spiders functions to test the metabolic capacities of their mates and ultimately to improve the physiological quality of their offspring. The study will illuminate the functions of female preferences by relating physiological and behavioral correlates of male and offspring viability to male success in two modes of female-mediated mating competition. Integrated field and laboratory studies of the spider's mating system will examine the significance of female-incited male-male competition and direct female choice for the acquisition of sires and production of offspring of superior metabolic competence. The spider's sexual-selection system permits these three aspects to be studied independently. Every female's first mate is determined by combat between males, whereas the female herself directly assesses secondary mates. Thus, operation of these modes of selection are temporally separated in the reproductive life of all females. The fighting ability of individual males will be assessed in nature, during fights on female webs. The fighting ability of these individuals will then be related, in the laboratory, to behavioral and metabolic performance before insemination occurs. Data on metabolic performance will be gathered using carbon-dioxide respirometry. The viability implication of differences among individuals in metabolic competence can be deduced from bioenergetic principles, so the relevance of female preferences for male traits that reveal metabolic competence will be clear. The study will provide unusual data addressing "good genes" models of sexual selection, and will provide data needed to tell if it is feasible to study the heritability of physiolog ical competence in this species.

雌性动物在选择配偶时通常是有选择性的。 为了理解自然选择是如何塑造这种行为的，重要的是要弄清楚雌性的择偶偏好如何影响其后代的生存能力。 本研究的目的是揭示雌性塞拉圆顶蜘蛛的择偶系统是否具有测试其配偶代谢能力并最终改善其后代生理质量的功能。 这项研究将阐明女性偏好的功能相关的生理和行为的男性和后代的生存能力，男性成功的两种模式的女性介导的交配竞争。 综合实地和实验室研究的蜘蛛的交配系统将检查的意义，女性煽动的男性-男性竞争和直接女性的选择，为收购的父亲和生产后代的上级代谢能力。 蜘蛛的性别选择系统允许这三个方面被独立研究。 每个雌性的第一个配偶是由雄性之间的战斗决定的，而雌性自己则直接评估第二个配偶。 因此，在所有雌性动物的生殖生活中，这些选择方式的作用是暂时分开的。 雄性个体的战斗能力将在自然界中进行评估，在雌性蜘蛛网上进行战斗。 这些个体的战斗能力将在实验室中与授精前的行为和代谢表现相关。 将使用二氧化碳呼吸测定法收集代谢性能数据。 从生物能量学原理可以推导出个体间代谢能力差异的生存力含义，因此女性对男性特征的偏好揭示了代谢能力的相关性。 这项研究将提供不寻常的数据，解决“好基因”的性选择模型，并将提供所需的数据，告诉它是否是可行的，研究在这个物种的生理能力的遗传。