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

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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.