Understanding a major global divergence in tropical life history strategies

了解热带生活史策略的全球主要差异

• 批准号: 0841764
• 负责人: Thomas Martin
• 金额: $ 60万
• 依托单位: University of Montana
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-02-15 至 2013-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0841764&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Understanding; major; global; divergence; tropical

Life history attributes such as rates of birth, death, growth, and development typically are related in predictable ways that support distinct, but successful, life styles. Typically, birth rate and adult longevity are negatively correlated and development time and life-time survival are positively correlated. Slow development and low fecundity are thought to be essential to a life history that includes long maximum life spans and are thought to have their effects through improving the health and survival of offspring. However, tropical birds of Asia appear to violate this pattern, being similarly long-lived to the birds of the New World tropics, but having higher fecundity and development rate. Therefore, low fecundity and slow development may not be necessary for high offspring quality and long life. This study will use extensive and detailed comparative surveys, complemented with some field experimentation, to examine possible environmental causes of the higher fecundity and faster development of 25-30 bird species in Sabah, Malaysia. Additionally, the work will examine the extent to which fecundity and development rate determine offspring immune function and thereby determine adult longevity. This work will provide new insight into the roles of development rate and fecundity in the ability to fight pathogens through immune function and of the influence of this and other indicators of offspring quality on longevity. It also will improve understanding of the environmental causes of variation in rates of birth, death, and development and their interrelationships. These rates greatly influence the vulnerability of populations to environmental change and can significantly aide our ability to sustain biodiversity in North America, as well as world-wide. Finally, this work includes substantial scientific training of many undergraduate and graduate students, including members of groups currently underrepresented in science.

生活史属性，如出生率，死亡率，生长和发育通常以可预测的方式相关，支持不同但成功的生活方式。通常，出生率和成年寿命呈负相关，发育时间和终生生存呈正相关。发育缓慢和生育力低被认为是生命史的关键，包括最长寿命，并被认为通过改善后代的健康和生存产生影响。然而，亚洲的热带鸟类似乎违反了这一模式，与新世界热带的鸟类一样长寿，但具有更高的繁殖力和发育速度。因此，低繁殖力和发育缓慢可能不是高后代质量和长寿的必要条件。 本研究将采用广泛而详细的比较调查，辅以一些实地实验，以探讨马来西亚沙巴25-30种鸟类较高繁殖力和较快发育的可能环境原因。此外，这项工作将研究繁殖力和发育速度在多大程度上决定后代的免疫功能，从而决定成年人的寿命。 这项工作将提供新的洞察力的发展速度和繁殖力的作用，通过免疫功能和后代质量的长寿的影响，以打击病原体的能力。它还将提高对出生率、死亡率和发育率变化的环境原因及其相互关系的了解。这些比率极大地影响了人口对环境变化的脆弱性，并可以大大帮助我们维持北美以及全世界生物多样性的能力。 最后，这项工作包括对许多本科生和研究生进行大量的科学培训，包括目前在科学领域代表性不足的群体的成员。