Doctoral Dissertation Research: Cooperative Reproduction

摘要提案# 9623224 PI: S. T. Emlen &amp1859年，查尔斯·达尔文提出了科学史上最深刻的思想之一；通过自然选择进化的观点。自达尔文以来，人们普遍认为，自然选择应该倾向于那些以最大限度地增加其幸存后代总数的方式行事的个体。在这种情况下，合作繁殖是一个进化悖论，因为它指的是一个社会系统，在这个系统中，个体放弃自己的繁殖，帮助他人照顾后代。本研究将首次考察合作繁殖进化理论在海洋环境中的适用性，从而检验其稳健性。本研究拟对巴布亚新几内亚Madang泻湖小丑海葵鱼（Amphiprion percula）的繁殖系统进行调查。在这个地方，由一对繁殖的幼鱼和0 - 6只幼鱼组成的群体保护海葵作为繁殖领地。将调查三个问题：1)海葵的幼鱼是否会增加繁殖者的后代数量？1995年一项初步研究的初步数据表明，幼崽确实增加了繁殖对后代的数量。2)幼崽如何增加繁殖者后代的数量？3)繁殖系统对幼崽的进化成本和收益是什么？该项目将结合全年的实地观察、实验操作和亲缘关系的分子分析。海葵鱼提供了一个独特的机会来扩展我们对动物社会行为可塑性的认识。彻底了解所研究种群的繁殖系统将有助于与具有不同交配系统的其他A. percula种群以及生活在热带和亚热带太平洋的其他海葵鱼进行比较。这项研究将引起行为和进化生物学家以及热带鱼爱好者的兴趣，因为海葵鱼是最受欢迎的咸水观赏鱼之一。

Abstract Proposal # 9623224 PI: S. T. Emlen & P.M. Buston In 1859, Charles Darwin put forward one of the most profound ideas in the history of science; the idea of evolution by natural selection. Since Darwin, it has become widely accepted that natural selection should favor individuals that behave in ways that maximize their total number of surviving offspring. In this context cooperative breeding is an evolutionary paradox because it refers to social systems where individuals forego their own reproduction and assist others in the care of young. The proposed research will test the robustness of current theory concerning the evolution of cooperative breeding by investigating its applicability to the marine environment for the first time. The research proposed will investigate the breeding system of the Clown anemonefish Amphiprion percula in Madang Lagoon, Papua New Guinea. At this site, groups composed of a breeding pair and 0 - 6 juveniles defend anemones as reproductive territories. Three questions will be investigated: 1) do juveniles at the anemone increase the number of offspring of the breeders? Preliminary data, from a 1995 pilot study, suggests that juveniles do indeed increase the number of offspring of the breeding pair. 2) how do the juveniles increase the number of offspring of the breeders? 3) what are the evolutionary costs and benefits of the breeding system to the juveniles? The project will combine year round field observations, experimental manipulations, and molecular analysis of kin relationships. The anemonefishes offer a unique opportunity to expand our knowledge of behavioral plasticity in animal societies. Athorough understanding of the breeding system within the studied population will facilitate comparisons with other populations of A. percula which have different mating systems, as well as with other anemonefishes which live throughout the tropical and sub-tropical Ind opacific. The research will be of interest to behavioral and evolutionary biologists, as well as tropical fish hobbyists because the anemonefishes are some of the most popular salt water aquarium fish.