DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Oxidative stress and trade-offs in the cooperatively breeding Florida Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens)

氧化损伤是由于生物体无法科普作为代谢副产物形成的活性氧（ROS）。对各种生物分子的损伤与细胞衰老、老化和衰弱性疾病有关。这项研究将是第一个解决氧化损伤的多个方面对自由生活的长寿鸟类模型中健身相关措施的影响。目前正在从这项研究中开发的框架可能对医学界具有重要意义，因为鸟类越来越多地被认为是评估人类对抗氧化损伤，衰老和相关疾病的适应性的可行模型。佛罗里达灌丛鸦将用于评估氧化损伤的积累是否会对生殖决策和产出以及健康产生负面影响。 雏鸟和成年鸟都将补充抗氧化剂，中和活性氧。因此，接受抗氧化剂的鸟类预计将表现出更高的繁殖和生存率。佛罗里达灌丛，鸟是一个联邦濒危物种，因此，这项研究的结果可能会被广泛应用，以协助保护这一点，和其他受威胁的物种提供重要的线索，以最佳的管理措施，补充抗氧化剂的饮食。 此外，通过与密切参与环境教育的生态研究机构阿赫博尔德生物站（ABS）的合作，这项研究将把科学进步与教育机会结合起来。这项研究将发表在高知名度的期刊上，并在科学和非专业会议上发表。它也将通过与ABS游客的互动非正式地共享，并通过车站正式地共享？每年有几十名本科生和研究生到空间站从事独立项目的实习计划，以及每年接待近3,000名3 - 5年级学童的ABS生态教育计划。

Oxidative damage results from the inability of an organism to cope with reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are formed as byproducts of metabolism. Damage to various classes of biomolecules has been implicated in cellular senescence, aging and debilitating diseases. This research will be the first to address the effects of multiple aspects of oxidative damage on fitness-related measures in a free-living long-lived avian model. The framework currently being developed from this research may be of importance to the medical community as birds are increasingly being recognized as viable models to assess adaptations to combat oxidative damage, senescence, and associated diseases in humans. Florida Scrub-Jays will be used to assess whether the accumulation of oxidative damage negatively affects reproductive decisions and output, as well as fitness. Both nestling and adult birds will be supplemented with antioxidants which neutralize ROS. Thus, birds that receive antioxidants are predicted to demonstrate higher reproduction and survivorship. Florida Scrub-Jays are a federally threatened species and therefore, the results of this research may be applied broadly to assist in the conservation of this, and other threatened species by providing important clues as to the best management practices with regard to supplemental antioxidant diets. Additionally, through collaboration with Archbold Biological Station (ABS), an ecological research facility intimately involved in environmental education, this research will integrate scientific advancement with educational opportunities. This research will be published in high profile journals and presented at scientific and lay meetings. It will also be shared informally through interactions with visitors to ABS, and formally both through the station?s internship program which brings several dozen undergraduate and graduate students to the station to work on independent projects each year and the ABS ecology education program which hosts nearly 3,000 3rd-5th grade schoolchildren every year.