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

职业：模型鸟类系统条件交配策略的进化和个体发生进化生物学中最大的难题之一是理解动物行为的进化。尤其值得一提的是，交配行为中可塑性的进化是最常见的记录，也是最不为人所知的现象。尽管越来越多的观察表明，即使在最罕见的环境条件下，个体也能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，尤其是在罕见和不可预测的环境中，是不太可能的。要解决这一矛盾，就需要将遗传、生理和行为方法整合到一个自然系统中，在这个系统中，行为的可塑性已经得到了很好的确立。拟议的研究计划将是第一个明确地将这些不同的方法整合到自然鸟类种群的塑料进化和可逆交配策略的实验研究中。首席研究员提出综合研究和教育机会，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。该物种的雄性根据其性装饰的精细程度提供或保留亲代照顾。因为雄性每年都会换一种新的羽毛，并且能活几年，所以同一个个体在生命的不同时期会表现出不同的亲代策略，从而为研究行为可塑性的进化提供了一个独特的机会。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，以便了解亲代行为如何在雄性一生中对环境线索的反应中与性装饰联系起来。这项研究计划的明确目标是利用这一成熟的自然现象，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，为他们在当前生物科学方法的前沿进行独立和创新的研究做好准备。拟议研究的研究地点在大学校园和城市地区，为培训高中生、学校教师和公众宣传提供了丰富的机会。迄今为止，公众的高度关注和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络的既定媒体联系广泛传播。此外，与当地学校的科学推广项目建立的密切关系将为未来的本科和研究生教育招收学生提供进一步的机会。最终，这项工作将为我们理解行为可塑性是如何演变的提供重要的新见解。更一般地说，这些数据将增加我们对使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.