Mechanisms of Color Production and Animal Visual Signals

建议标题：颜色产生的机制和动物的颜色信号建议编号：0316120动物利用化学色素和物理结构产生颜色信号。据预测，所采用的特定机制将对他们如何在行为互动中使用信号产生影响。这个由三部分组成的项目研究了橙色硫磺的这些后果，橙色硫磺是一种常见的北美蝴蝶。在本种中，色素在雄性=S的上翅表面产生黄橙色和黑色的斑纹，而仅在雄性=S的上翅表面上发现的结构修改产生虹彩和高度定向的紫外线(UV)反射。该项目的第一部分通过描述紫外线信号的物理特征来描述其性质和外观，然后分析相互作用的蝴蝶之间的空间关系，看看信号传输是否得到优化。第二部分考察了自然界中雄性在结构和基于色素的成分上的差异，以及这种差异在多大程度上导致了雄性交配成功的差异和避免其他雄性的骚扰。在第三部分中，雄性将在不同的条件下饲养，看看环境对一只雄性=S的颜色有多大的影响，从而一只雄性=S的颜色在多大程度上反映了他的状态或素质。这最后两个部分共同验证了最近的一些观点，即某些颜色产生机制可能比其他机制为女性选择配偶提供了更多关于男性信号者质量的信息。该项目为来自不同背景和专业发展水平的学生提供丰富的研究和培训经验，希望鼓励和促进他们对科学事业的追求。结果将通过科学和大众媒体、基于网络的材料和非营利性自然历史组织的公开演示向广大受众传播。

PI: Ronald L. RutowskiProposal Title: Mechanisms of Color Production and Animal Color SignalsProposal No.: 0316120 Animals produce color signals using both chemical pigments and physical structures. The specific mechanism employed is predicted to have consequences for how they use the signals in behavioral interactions. This three-part project examines these consequences in the Orange Sulphur, a common North American butterfly. In this species, pigments produce the yellow-orange and black markings on the male=s upper wing surfaces while structural modifications found only on the male=s upper wing surfaces produce an iridescent and highly directional ultraviolet (UV) reflection. The first part of the project describes the nature and appearance the UV signal by describing its physical characteristics and then analyzes the spatial relationships between interacting butterflies to see if signal transmission is optimized. The second part examines how much males in nature vary in the structural- and pigment-based components of male coloration and the extent to which this variation leads to variation in male mating success and avoidance of harassment by other males. In the third part, males will be reared under different conditions to see how much the environment affects a male=s coloration and therefore the extent to which a male=s coloration may indicate his condition or quality. These last two parts together test recent suggestions that some mechanisms of color production might provide more information than others about the quality of male signalers for females in mate choice. This project provides rich research and training experiences for students from diverse backgrounds and levels of professional development in the hopes of encouraging and enabling their pursuit of careers in science. The results will be disseminated to a broad audience through the scientific and popular press, web-based materials, and public presentations for non-profit natural history organizations.