Ecological Factors and Behavioral Mechanisms Underlying Selection

选择背后的生态因素和行为机制

• 批准号: 9514142
• 负责人: Andrew Sih
• 金额: $ 17.24万
• 依托单位: University of Kentucky Research Foundation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1996
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1996-04-01 至 2001-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9514142&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Ecological; Factors; Behavioral; Mechanisms; Underlying

Abstract Sih 9514142 A blend of field surveys and experiments in semi-natural conditions will be used to examine the ecological determinants and selective consequences of mating behavior in a system with male-female sexual conflict. The focal system studied is a semi-aquatic insect, the stream water strider, Aquarius remigis. This species shows very clear male-female conflict: males continually attempt to mate with females, while females almost always resist male mating attempts. Previous experimental work showed that various biotic, ecological factors (predation risk, food availability, density, sex ratio) have major impacts on mating patterns (mating activity, mating frequency, mating duration, non-random mating by size) and that these effects depend largely on the influence of these factors on patterns of female resistance to male mating attempts (i.e., on female behavior in the male-female conflict). The proposed studies expand on current knowledge in three ways: 1. This study will move us significantly closer to a full understanding of how spatial and temporal variation in ecological conditions (both biotic and abiotic) influence both variation in mating dynamics and overall patterns of sexual selection. 2. This study will provide a rare instance of an experimental test of predictions on variation in sexual selection based on known behavioral mechanisms (in this case, male-female conflict) and the effects of ecological conditions on these behaviors. 3. Studies of selection in nature will provide a bridge between mechanistic experimental studies of behavior in semi- natural conditions and effects of these behavioral mechanisms in nature. In sum, 1) patterns of sexual selection (as quantified by modern statistical methods) will be explained mechanistically by using information on behaviors (male- female conflict) that underlie sexual selection, and 2) male and female behavior a(and thus patterns of sexual selection), in turn, will be understood as flexible responses to variation in both biotic and abiotic, ecological conditions. Overall, the integration of concepts and information from three exciting fields (male-female conflict, quantitative studies of sexual and natural selection, and ecology of mating systems) should add significant insights to our knowledge in all three fields and thus add to our general understanding of reproductive behavior.

摘要 Sih 9514142 结合野外调查和半自然条件下的实验，将被用来研究生态学的决定因素和选择性的交配行为的结果，在一个系统中与男性-女性的性冲突。 研究的焦点系统是一种半水生昆虫，溪流水蝗，Aquarius remigis。 这一物种表现出非常明显的雌雄冲突：雄性不断试图与雌性交配，而雌性几乎总是抵制雄性交配的企图。 先前的实验工作表明，各种生物，生态因素（捕食风险，食物可利用性，密度，性比）对交配模式（交配活动，交配频率，交配持续时间，大小非随机交配）有重大影响，这些影响在很大程度上取决于这些因素对雌性抵抗雄性交配尝试模式的影响（即，在男女冲突中的女性行为）。 拟议的研究以三种方式扩展现有知识： 1. 这项研究将使我们更接近于充分了解生态条件（生物和非生物）的空间和时间变化如何影响交配动态和性选择的整体模式。 2. 这项研究将提供一个罕见的例子，一个实验测试的预测变化的性选择的基础上已知的行为机制（在这种情况下，男女冲突）和生态条件对这些行为的影响。 3. 自然选择的研究将为半自然条件下行为的机械实验研究和这些行为机制在自然界中的作用提供一座桥梁。 总之，1）性选择的模式（通过现代统计方法量化）将通过使用性选择基础的行为（雄性-雌性冲突）的信息来机械地解释，2）男性和女性的行为（以及因此的性选择模式）反过来将被理解为对生物和非生物生态条件变化的灵活反应。 总的来说，来自三个令人兴奋的领域（男女冲突，性和自然选择的定量研究，以及交配系统的生态学）的概念和信息的整合应该为我们在所有三个领域的知识增加重要的见解，从而增加我们对生殖行为的一般理解。