RUI: Socially-Induced Ovulation Synchrony in Colonial Seabirds: Mathematical Models and Field Data

在一项初步研究中，研究人员证明，灰羽海鸥每隔一天同步产卵，但只在巢密度足够密集的地区产卵。基于48小时排卵周期通过社会刺激同步的假设，建立了一个数学模型。该项目以初步研究的结果为基础，通过以下三个方面：1)研究生殖同步发生的机制，研究人员探索可能的嗅觉、听觉和视觉交流渠道。2)研究了三类数学模型，以了解种群的同步化过程、同步化对种群消长的影响以及生殖同步化可能的选择优势。3)理论与一个项目的数据严格联系在一起，该项目涉及一个垂直整合的研究团队，其中本科生和代表不足的群体的培训是一个主要重点。在各种电气、机械、化学和生物系统中都有同步的例子被记录下来，包括妇女的月经周期和大鼠的发情周期。鸟类的社会刺激排卵同步类似于女性的月经同步和大鼠的发情周期，构成了非哺乳动物物种排卵同步的第一个例子。鸟类和哺乳动物排卵同步性的记录表明，在分类学上存在广泛的和基本的生理和适应过程，值得进一步关注。对这一现象的分析提供了对三类新的数学模型的洞察。此外，在这项跨学科研究的每个阶段，本科生，特别是那些代表性不足的群体的参与，都会培养出精通数量生物学技术的年轻科学家。

In a pilot study, the investigators demonstrated that Glaucous-winged Gulls lay eggs synchronously on an every-other-day schedule, but only in areas of the colony where the nest density is sufficiently dense. A mathematical model was developed based on the hypothesis that 48-hour ovulation cycles synchronize through social stimulation. This project builds on the results of the pilot study in the following three ways: 1) The mechanisms by which reproductive synchrony occurs are investigated, in which the investigators explore possible olfactory, auditory, and visual channels of communication. 2) Three classes of mathematical models are studied in order to understand the process of synchronization, the effects of synchrony on population growth and decline, and possible selective advantages of reproductive synchrony. 3) Theory is rigorously connected with data on a project involving a vertically integrated research team in which the training of undergraduates and underrepresented groups is a major focus.Examples of synchrony have been documented in a wide variety of electrical, mechanical, chemical, and biological systems, including the menstrual cycles of women and estrous cycles of rats. Socially-stimulated ovulation synchrony in birds is analogous to menstrual synchrony in women and estrous cycles in rats, and constitutes the first example of ovulation synchrony in a non-mammalian species. Documentation of ovulation synchrony in both birds and mammals suggests the existence of taxonomically widespread and fundamental physiological and adaptive processes that deserve further attention. Analysis of this phenomenon provides insight into three new classes of mathematical models. Moreover, participation by undergraduates, especially those in underrepresented groups, at every stage of this interdisciplinary research produces young scientists literate in the techniques of quantitative biology.