LTREB: Long Term Studies of Ecology of Social Behavior

LTREB：社会行为生态学的长期研究

• 批准号: 0076100
• 负责人: Patricia Gowaty
• 金额: $ 33.85万
• 依托单位: University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2000
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2000-09-01 至 2007-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0076100&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: LTREB; Long; Term; Studies; Ecology

This study will examine the role of red imported fire ants in reducing the reproductive performance, and thereby in affecting the social and mating system, of eastern bluebirds. Previous work has shown that the reproduction of bluebirds in Athens, Georgia, where the ants are established, is depressed compared to the reproduction of the same species in Clemson, South Carolina, where the ants have been absent. Now the ants are invading Clemson; this natural experiment will be used to test the hypothesis that the fire ants are the cause of decreased reproduction. Bluebird reproduction and social behavior will be monitored in the two sites. The Athens site will serve as a control for other kinds of environmental variation. If fire ants are the cause of lowered reproduction in Athens, then as they invade Clemson, bluebird reproduction should decline there, as well.A new species invasion is like a stone thrown into a pond. How far do the ripples go, and how many distant relationships do they affect? This study will contribute to the general answer to this big question. It may be that the tendency of a male bird to guard his mate, and the rate at which his mate engages in extra-pair matings, is influenced by an invading ant species.

这项研究将考察红色进口火蚁在降低东部蓝知更鸟的繁殖性能，从而影响社会和交配系统方面的作用。之前的研究表明，与没有蚂蚁的南卡罗来纳州克莱姆森相比，在蚂蚁栖息地佐治亚州雅典的蓝鸟繁殖受到抑制。现在蚂蚁正在入侵克莱姆森；这个自然实验将被用来检验火蚁是繁殖减少的原因这一假设。将在这两个地点监测蓝鸟的繁殖和社会行为。雅典的遗址将作为其他类型的环境变化的控制。如果火蚁是雅典繁殖率下降的原因，那么当它们入侵克莱姆森时，蓝鸟的繁殖率也应该下降。新物种的入侵就像是往池塘里扔石头。这些涟漪会波及多远，会影响多少远方的关系？这项研究将有助于对这个大问题的总体回答。雄鸟保护配偶的倾向，以及其配偶参与额外配对的速度，可能受到入侵蚂蚁物种的影响。