Alternative Reproductive Strategies and Cooperative Colony Initiation

替代生殖策略和合作群体启动

• 批准号: 9408024
• 负责人: Peter Nonacs
• 金额: $ 2.76万
• 依托单位: University of California-Los Angeles
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1995
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1995-06-01 至 1996-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9408024&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Alternative; Reproductive; Strategies; Cooperative; Colony

NONTECHNICAL SUMMARY Nonacs, IBN 9408024, Alternative reproductive strategies and cooperative colony initiation There are thousands of social species in the animal kingdom, ranging from molds to insects to birds to mammals, including humans. A central theoretical and practical concern in the study of animal behavior, therefore, is how and why cooperative groups of animals are formed. Many of our insights into the biology of cooperation have come from the study of social insects such as paper wasps, which also can provide a model system in which experimental studies of cooperation are possible at relatively low cost. Two of the factors which affect cooperation in many species are the degree of relatedness among individuals and ecological pressures (especially restricted resources) that favor cooperation. In this research, Dr. Nonacs will examine the decision that female paper wasps make to either be cooperative or not to be cooperative when founding their colonies. A combination of DNA fingerprinting and behavioral observation will be used to determine how genetic relatedness determines the formation of cooperative units, affects the levels of aggressive conflicts between female wasps founding new colonies and influences the decisions of the wasps to feed different young within the nest. The resulting data will allow the measurement of the relative importance of genetic relatedness and ecological pressures in the formation of cooperative groups. This research will also increase our understanding of where and how wasp colonies are started. While wasps in the right places are important control agents of pest insects, wasps nesting near humans are a nuisance and a danger. Therefore, this research has the potential applied benefit of giving us more information about how to encourage wasps to nest where needed and not where they are unwanted.

在动物界有成千上万的群居物种，从霉菌到昆虫，从鸟类到哺乳动物，包括人类。因此，动物行为研究的一个核心理论和实践问题是动物的合作群体是如何以及为什么形成的。我们对合作生物学的许多见解都来自对社会性昆虫（如纸黄蜂）的研究，这也可以提供一个模型系统，在这个模型系统中，以相对较低的成本对合作进行实验研究是可能的。影响许多物种合作的两个因素是个体之间的亲缘程度和有利于合作的生态压力（特别是有限的资源）。在这项研究中，诺纳克斯博士将研究雌性纸黄蜂在建立殖民地时做出的合作或不合作的决定。DNA指纹和行为观察的结合将用于确定遗传关系如何决定合作单位的形成，影响建立新殖民地的雌性黄蜂之间的攻击冲突水平，以及影响黄蜂在巢中喂养不同幼蜂的决定。由此产生的数据将使人们能够衡量在形成合作群体过程中遗传亲缘性和生态压力的相对重要性。这项研究也将增加我们对蜂群在哪里以及如何开始的理解。虽然黄蜂在适当的地方是害虫的重要控制剂，但在人类附近筑巢的黄蜂是一种滋扰和危险。因此，这项研究具有潜在的应用价值，可以为我们提供更多关于如何鼓励黄蜂在需要的地方筑巢而不是在不需要的地方筑巢的信息。