Dissertation Research: Mechanisms of Male Responses to a Reduction in Paternity

9700811韦伯斯特父母投资理论的目标之一是解释父母的决定基于成本和收益的行为。 最近使用的分子技术表明，在许多系统中，后代不一定是由他们的社会父亲的父系。 然而，很少有人进一步研究观察到的男性行为背后的机制。 这个为期两年的项目将研究影响北美雀形目黑喉蓝莺雄性对父权减少的反应的因素。 在前几个季节已经检测到育雏内的亲子关系的变化，多位点DNA指纹和PCR扩增的微卫星的组合将被用来确定所有后代的遗传父亲在未来几年。 焦点观察和实验操作都将被用来区分一组替代假设，以解释男性父母的照顾模式，减少父权。 这项研究将有助于解释目前知之甚少的模式内和种间的变化，在父母的照顾提供有关因素的信息，影响男性的适应性反应，并增加了知识的繁殖生态这个物种。

9700811 Webster One of the goals of parental investment theory is to explain parental decisions based upon costs and benefits of the behavior. Recent use of molecular techniques has reveal that, in many systems, offspring are not necessarily sired by their social fathers Several studies have considered whether this reduction in paternity affects male parental care, and mixed findings have resulted. Few, however, have gone further to examine the mechanisms behind the observed male behavior. This two-year project will examine factors influencing male responses to reduced paternity in a North American passerine, the Black-throated Blue Warbler. Variation in parentage within broods has been detected in previous seasons; a combination of multilocus DNA fingerprinting and PCR-amplified microsatellites will be used to identify genetic fathers of all offspring in upcoming years. Focal observations and experimental manipulations will both be used to distinguish between a set of alternative hypotheses set forth to explain male parental care patterns in response to reductions in paternity. This study will help explain the currently poorly understood patterns of within- and between- species variation in parental care provide information about factors influencing male adaptive responses, and add to knowledge of the breeding ecology of this species.