CAREER: Evolution and Ontogeny of Conditional Mating Tactics in a Model Avian System

职业：模型鸟类条件交配策略的进化和个体发育进化生物学最大的难题之一是理解动物行为的进化。特别是，交配行为可塑性的进化同时也是最常见的记录和最不了解的现象。虽然越来越多的观察表明，即使在最罕见的环境条件下，个体也可以自适应地改变自己的行为，但目前的理论表明，这种可塑性的进化，特别是在罕见和不可预测的环境中，是不可能的。解决这一矛盾需要一个新的整合遗传，生理和行为的方法，以一个自然系统中的行为可塑性是建立良好的。这项研究计划将是第一个明确整合这些不同的方法在自然种群的鸟类的塑料和可逆交配策略的进化实验研究。首席研究员提出了综合研究和教育的机会，将利用在北美最常见的后院鸟类-家雀（Carpodacus mexicanus）中观察到的独特的父母行为。这一物种的雄性要么提供或保留父母的照顾，这取决于他们的性取向的阐述。由于雄性每年都会蜕皮成新的羽毛，并且可以存活数年，因此同一个个体可以在生命的不同时期表现出不同的父母策略，从而提供了一个独特的机会来研究行为可塑性的进化。这项工作的中心目标是阐明生态学、生理学、遗传学和行为之间的联系，以了解父母的行为如何与男性一生中对环境线索的性暗示联系起来。该研究计划的明确目标是利用这种成熟的自然现象，为亚利桑那大学和蒙大拿大学的本科生和研究生提供长期的教育和培训机会，使他们能够在当前生物科学方法的最前沿进行独立和创新的研究。拟议研究的研究地点在大学校园和城市地区，为培训高中学生、学校教师和公众宣传提供了丰富的机会。到目前为止，高知名度和公众的积极参与促进了科学研究和发现通过从地方报纸到国家电视网等已建立的媒体联系得到广泛传播。此外，与当地学校的科学推广计划建立的密切关系将为未来的本科生和研究生教育提供更多的招生机会。最终，这项工作将为我们理解行为可塑性如何演变提供重要的新见解。更一般地说，这些数据将增加我们对罕见和新颖行为在动物种群中出现、持续和传播的过程的理解。

CAREER: EVOLUTION AND ONTOGENY OF CONDITIONAL MATING TACTICS IN A MODEL AVIAN SYSTEMOne of the greatest puzzles remaining for evolutionary biology is to understand the evolution of animal behaviors. Particularly, the evolution of plasticity in mating behaviors is, at once, the most commonly- documented and the least understood phenomenon. Whereas growing number of observations show that individuals can modify their behaviors adaptively in even the rarest of environmental circumstances, current theory shows that the evolution of such plasticity, especially in rare and unpredictable environments, is unlikely. The resolution of this paradox requires a novel integration of genetic, physiological, and behavioral approaches to a natural system where plasticity in behavior is well established. The proposed research program will be the first to explicitly integrate these diverse approaches in an experimental study of evolution of plastic and reversible mating tactics in natural populations of birds.The principal investigator proposes integrative research and educational opportunities that will take advantage of distinct parental behaviors observed in the most common of the backyard birds in the North America - the house finch (Carpodacus mexicanus). Males of this species either provide or withhold parental care depending on the elaboration of their sexual ornamentation. Because males molt into a new plumage every year and live for several years, the same individual can show different parental strategies at different times of his life, thus offering a unique opportunity to examine evolution of plasticity in behavior. The central goal of the proposed work is to elucidate the links between ecology, physiology, genetics, and behavior in order to understand how parental behaviors become connected with sexual ornamentation in response to environmental cues throughout a male's lifetime. The explicit aim of this research program is to utilize this well-established natural phenomena to provide the long-term educational and training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Arizona and University of Montana to prepare them for independent and innovative research at the at the forefront of current approaches in biological sciences. Research sites for the proposed study are on the campuses of universities and in urban areas and provide an abundant opportunity for training high school students, school teachers, and for general public outreach. High visibility and active public participation thus far facilitated wide dissemination of scientific research and discoveries through established media contacts, from local newspapers to national television networks. Moreover, close relationships built with scientific outreach programs of local schools will provide further opportunities for the recruitment of students for future undergraduate and graduate education. Ultimately this work will provide significant new insights into our understanding how behavioral plasticity evolves. More generally, these data will increase our understanding of the processes that enable rare and novel behaviors to appear, persist, and spread in animal populations.