Dissertation Research: Parental Effects of Offspring Fitness

摘要IBN96-23840枫树父母对子代健康的影响本研究将通过父母行为来论证和描述树莓亲本对子代S健康的影响。父母可能通过影响后代的存活直接影响后代S的健康状况，或通过影响后代的表型间接影响后代的健康状况。结合田间操作和自然控制，将同时获得对亲本行为自然变异的估计，亲本行为对后代适应性的直接和间接影响，以及通过后代适应性对亲本行为的选择作用的强度。小袋鼠表现出一种谨慎的双亲照顾方式，其中雄性照顾卵直到它们孵化，雌性照顾蝌蚪从孵化到变态。这项研究将调查不同的男性和女性父母的行为(操纵和自然)对后代生长、发育和存活的影响。在项目1中，将控制喂食事件的频率和每次喂食事件提供的营养鸡蛋数量，以确定这些自然行为的变化对后代的影响。在项目2中，将使用野外围栏中的实验操作来调查亲代行为，包括水合作用、对真菌感染的保护以及对捕食者和寄生蜂的防御对卵发育和存活的影响。

Abstract IBN 96-23840 Brodie & Maple Parental Effects on Offspring Fitness The proposed research will demonstrate and describe the influence that Dendrobates pumilio parents on their offspring s fitness through parental behavior. Parents may influence their offpring s fitness directly by influencing offspring survival, or indirectly by influencing offspring phenotypes. A combination of field manipulations and natural controls will be used simultaneously to obtain estimates of natural variation in parental behavior, the direct and indirect effects of parental behavior on offspring fitness, and the strength of selection acting on parental behavior through offspring fitness. D. pumilio display a discreet form of bi-parental care in which males care for the eggs until they hatch and females care for the tadpoles from hatching through metamorphosis. This research will investigate the effects of distinct male and female parental behaviors (manipulated and natural) on offspring growth, development, and survival. In Project 1, the frequency of feeding events and number of nutritional eggs provided per feeding event will be manipulated to determine the effects of variation in these natural behaviors on offspring. In Project 2, experimental manipulations in field enclosures will be used to investigate the effects of parental behaviors including hydration, protection from fungal infection, and defense against predators and parasitoids on egg development and survival.