Options in a Variable Social System

Dickinson，Janis IBN-9507365 摘要 可变社会制度中的选择 在大多数情况下，西部蓝知更鸟是一夫一妻制，终身配对，雄性和雌性平等地分享喂养后代。 然而，一些观察表明，雄性的繁殖机会是有限的。 有些雄性不繁殖，而是在父母的巢里帮助喂养雏鸟。 另一些则填补丧偶雌性巢穴中的空缺，并照顾可能是由雌性前配偶所生的后代;这种明显的利他主义的假定好处是有机会在下一次与雌性繁殖。 在雄性繁殖选择的变化上，繁殖雄性在使其社会配偶的卵受精的程度上也有所不同; DNA指纹分析显示，超过三分之一的巢穴至少有一个后代不是由繁殖雄性繁殖的。迪金森博士将使用单位点指纹技术和田间实验来发现额外受精的过程，并准确测量育种者，助手和收养男性的健康后果。 通过使用小型和微型卫星DNA指纹技术对种群进行大规模基因分型，她将描述成功受精的雄性。 了解这个物种的替代生殖行为的不寻常的阵列将提供大量的见解一夫一妻制，双亲照顾，合作育种的演变。 迪金森博士将培训三个本科或最近毕业的生物专业领域鸟类学。 在过去，很大一部分受训人员从事野外生物学的其他工作，或者在大多数情况下，从事动物行为学或鸟类学的研究生课程。 这些基础研究的结果可能会产生有关鸟类种群和保护生物学的重要信息。

Dickinson, Janis IBN-9507365 Abstract Options in a variable social system Western bluebirds, in most cases, are monogamous, pair for life, and the male and female share equally in feeding offspring. However, several observations suggest that breeding opportunities are limited for males. Some males don't breed, but instead help feed nestlings at their parents' nests. Others fill vacancies at nests of widowed females and care for young that were presumably sired by the female's former mate; the presumed benefit of this apparent altruism is the opportunity to breed with the female the next time around. Superimposed on this variation in the reproductive options of males, breeding males vary in the extent to which they fertilize eggs of their social mates; DNA fingerprinting has revealed that over one-third of nests have at least one offspring that is not sired by the caregiving male. Dr. Dickinson will use single-locus fingerprinting techniques and field experiments to discover the processes underlying extrapair fertilization and to measure accurately the fitness consequences for breeders, helpers, and adoptive males. Through large-scale genotyping of the population using mini- and micro-satellite DNA fingerprinting techniques, she will characterize males successful in fertilization. Understanding the unusual array of alternative reproductive behaviors in this species will provide substantial insights into the evolution of monogamy, biparental care, and cooperative breeding. Dr. Dickinson will train three undergraduate or recently graduated biology majors in field ornithology. In the past, a high proportion of trainees have gone on to other jobs in field biology or, in most cases, graduate programs in animal behavior or ornithology. The results of these basic studies are likely to yield significant information concerning the population and conservation biology of avian species.