Complex Mating Displays: Constraints, Trade-offs, and Reliability

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Proposed research examines the structure, function, and evolution of communication displays in a tropical songbird species, the blue-black grassquit. This project will be conducted and supervised by three core collaborators: Dr. Regina Macedo (University of Brasilia, Brazil), Dr. Jefferson Graves (University of St. Andrews, Scotland) and the PI. Field work will focus on grassquit "leap displays" at a field site in Brasilia, Brazil. The main goals of field work are to characterize variation among males in display traits, to identify the mechanistic bases of display variation, and to characterize how females use display trait variation in mate choice. Mating displays will be characterized using optical spectrophotometry, high-speed videography, and focal and automated audio recording. It is hypothesized that males showing high performance in some display traits (e.g. leap height) will express deficits in others (e.g., leap rate), because of mechanistic, energetic, or allocation-based constraints. The impact of display trait variation on female choice will be documented using genetic paternity analysis. It is hypothesized that females will choose mates based largely on behavioral display traits, because such traits should provide particularly reliable indicators of male health, status, and quality. This project includes training of Brazilian and American students in evolutionary biology, animal behavior, and ornithology, and includes several planned exchange courses. A broader goal of our plan is to facilitate interchange between researchers from the three countries, with special interest in fostering interactions between Brazilian and US scientific communities.