Collaborative Research: Parental care and the integration of personality and plasticity at multiple levels of phenotypic variance

合作研究：父母的照顾以及表型变异多个层面的人格和可塑性的整合

• 批准号: 1257718
• 负责人: David Westneat
• 金额: $ 67万
• 依托单位: University of Kentucky Research Foundation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-08-01 至 2018-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1257718&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Parental; care; integration

Labile traits like behavior exhibit variation at multiple levels of organization; within individuals, among individuals, and among populations and species. The nature of this variation influences evolutionary processes, and can help explain how organisms respond to rapid environmental changes and why some thrive in new habitats and others dwindle. In this project, variance in parental behavior of house sparrows will be measured across multiple breeding attempts and separated into its constituent components. Manipulations of offspring demand will test among two alternative hypotheses for why individuals that routinely assiduously care for offspring also are more flexible. A novel statistical technique will be used to assess hierarchical patterns of variance in parental behavior. Additional experiments using controlled feeders in both free-living and captive subjects will test if differences in within-individual variance in care are a byproduct of decisions affecting mean levels of care or adaptive management of random variance in available food. Finally, measurements of hormone levels in response to manipulations as well as a novel experiment in which two hormones will be manipulated will test between alternative hypotheses about the underlying mechanisms that influence phenotypic variance in parental behavior at multiple levels. The project will train a post-doctoral scholar, support graduate research projects, foster undergraduates to gain experience in blending biology and statistics, and help support several initiatives to provide new opportunities for experiencing research to those without access to active scientific studies.

像行为这样的不稳定特征在组织的多个层次上表现出变化;在个体内部，个体之间，以及种群和物种之间。这种变异的性质影响了进化过程，并有助于解释生物如何应对快速的环境变化，以及为什么有些生物在新的栖息地茁壮成长，而另一些则萎缩。在这个项目中，家雀父母行为的差异将在多次育种尝试中进行测量，并将其分为组成部分。对后代需求的操纵将在两个备选假设中检验为什么那些经常勤勉地照顾后代的个体也更灵活。一种新的统计技术将被用来评估层次模式的变化，在父母的行为。在自由生活和圈养受试者中使用受控饲养者的其他实验将测试护理中个体内方差的差异是否是影响平均护理水平或适应性管理可用食物随机方差的决定的副产品。最后，测量激素水平的操作，以及一个新的实验中，两种激素将被操纵将测试之间的替代假设的潜在机制，影响表型变异的父母的行为在多个层面。该项目将培养博士后学者，支持研究生研究项目，培养本科生获得混合生物学和统计学的经验，并帮助支持几项举措，为那些无法获得积极科学研究的人提供体验研究的新机会。