Collaborative Research: Influences of environmental manipulation on parental programming and stress physiology in a cooperatively breeding bird

合作研究：环境操纵对合作繁殖鸟类的亲本编程和应激生理的影响

• 批准号: 0919899
• 负责人: Stephan Schoech
• 金额: $ 44.74万
• 依托单位: University of Memphis
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-08-15 至 2013-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0919899&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Influences; environmental; manipulation

A wealth of research in the biological and social sciences has demonstrated that rearing environment is an important contributor to offspring development. Are these developmental effects adaptive in terms of molding an individual to match current environmental conditions? The co-PIs will first test whether variation in provisioning behavior by breeding Florida Scrub-Jays gives rise to differences, both physiological and behavioral, in the resulting offspring. The research will then follow the survival and reproduction of these offspring to assess whether the developmental pathways determined by their parent's provisioning behaviors do indeed match the offspring phenotype to the current environment. Florida Scrub-Jays breed as family units, with older siblings helping to rear the most recent brood of nestlings. Hence, findings with respect to the rearing environment and its potential to affect physical and mental aspects of the emerging adults will have implications for other species with complex social systems (like humans). Furthermore, through a multifaceted approach to monitoring physical, physiological, and behavioral aspects of focal birds, the co-PIs will be able to provide insight into the mechanisms that drive environmental influences on offspring development (preliminary data suggest an important role for secretion of the 'stress hormone' corticosterone, early in life). A key component of the research will be the development of a new automated feeding technology to manipulated food availability and provisioning rates in particular family groups. This approach, which will use radio frequency identification to selectively administer food to targeted individuals, will introduce an inexpensive yet powerful tool for studies that require manipulation of the feeding environment. Previous work by the co-PIs has demonstrated that food supplementation can increase the number of young produced in this Threatened species, and the improved delivery system the co-PIs will use in this research will be a powerful conservation tool that can be used by managers of other threatened and endangered species. The field work will take place at Archbold Biological Station in Central Florida, and will contribute to this institution's infrastructure and legacy of high-quality research. Finally, the research will provide training opportunities for a number of undergraduates (or recent graduates), two Ph.D. students, and two post-doctoral researchers; and it will help enrich Archbold's K-12 education programs.

生物和社会科学领域的大量研究表明，饲养环境是后代发育的重要因素。这些发展效应是否能够适应塑造个体以适应当前环境条件？联合首席研究员将首先测试佛罗里达灌丛松鸦饲养行为的变化是否会导致后代产生生理和行为上的差异。然后，研究将跟踪这些后代的生存和繁殖，以评估由父母的供给行为决定的发育途径是否确实与后代的表型与当前环境相匹配。佛罗里达灌丛鸦以家庭为单位进行繁殖，年长的兄弟姐妹帮助抚养最新一窝雏鸟。因此，有关饲养环境及其对初生成虫身心影响的潜力的研究结果将对具有复杂社会系统的其他物种（如人类）产生影响。此外，通过多方面的方法来监测焦点鸟类的身体、生理和行为方面，共同PI将能够深入了解环境对后代发育影响的机制（初步数据表明，生命早期“应激激素”皮质酮的分泌发挥着重要作用）。该研究的一个关键组成部分将是开发一种新的自动喂养技术，以控制特定家庭群体的食物供应和供应率。这种方法将使用射频识别来选择性地向目标个体提供食物，将为需要操纵喂养环境的研究引入一种廉价但功能强大的工具。联合首席研究员之前的工作表明，食物补充剂可以增加该受威胁物种的幼崽数量，而联合首席研究员将在本研究中使用的改进的输送系统将成为一个强大的保护工具，可供其他受威胁和濒危物种的管理者使用。 实地工作将在佛罗里达州中部的阿奇博尔德生物站进行，并将为该机构的基础设施和高质量研究遗产做出贡献。最后，该研究将为一些本科生（或应届毕业生）、两名博士生提供培训机会。学生和两名博士后研究人员；它将有助于丰富 Archbold 的 K-12 教育项目。