"LTREB: Impacts of polyandry over the lifetime of a social mammal"

交配会增加感染疾病和寄生虫的风险，而且雌性通常从一次交配中获得所需的全部精子。然而，矛盾的是，一妻多夫制（即与多个雄性交配）在所有类型的动物中普遍存在。对草原土拨鼠的长期研究表明，一妻多夫的雌性比一妻多夫的雌性繁殖成功率更高。为了调查一妻多夫制的成本和收益，马里兰大学的研究人员将对一妻多夫制和一妻多夫制的雌性草原土拨鼠进行一项操纵性的实地实验，比较它们在年龄、体重、群体大小和成年性别比例上的匹配。这项全面的实验将是迄今为止对生活在自然条件下的哺乳动物的一妻多夫制最详细的研究。研究人员将使用两项创新技术，超声波和遥控蛇形机器人（蛇机器人），来计算以前无法观察到的生活史部分的后代。此外，他们将利用对交配行为的观察和对父权的分子分析的有力结合来研究多夫制可能提高雌性RS的遗传机制。这种对自然条件下多夫制的长期研究将对我们理解动物行为中的几个关键问题产生深远的影响，包括配偶选择、遗传多样性的产生和维持、性选择和种群生存能力。更广泛的影响包括每年培养8名本科生，其中许多将是代表性不足的少数民族；一个生物摄像机，它将使业余和专业生物学家能够观看有标记的草原土拨鼠之间的实时互动；协助5个致力于保护草原土拨鼠的组织；从学前班到高中学生的讲座；2个提供土拨鼠信息的网站；并且经常在广播和电视上播放关于草原土拨鼠的节目。数据管理行为和遗传数据将存储在DRYAD数据库（http://datadryad.org/）和NCBI基因库（http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/）等数据库中，供公众使用。

Mating involves costs such as increased exposure to diseases and parasites, and a female usually obtains all the sperm she needs from a single mating. Paradoxically, however, polyandry (i.e., mating with multiple males) is ubiquitous among animals of all types. Longterm research with prairie dogs has revealed that reproductive success (RS) is higher for polyandrous females than for monandrous females. To investigate the costs and benefits of polyandry, researchers from The University of Maryland will perform a manipulative field experiment that will compare monandry versus polyandry for female prairie dogs matched for age, body mass, colony size, and the adult sex ratio. This comprehensive experiment will be the most detailed examination of polyandry to date for a mammal living under natural conditions. The researchers will use two innovations, ultrasounds and remote-controlled serpentine robots (snakebots), to count offspring at previously un-observable portions of the life-history. Further, they will capitalize on a powerful combination of behavioral observations of matings with molecular analyses of paternity to investigate genetic mechanisms by which polyandry might enhance female RS. This longterm research of polyandry under natural conditions will have sweeping consequences for our understanding of several key issues in Animal Behavior, including mate choice, generation and maintenance of genetic diversity, sexual selection, and population viability. Broader impacts include training 8 undergraduates per year, many of whom will be under-represented minorities; a Critter-Cam, which will enable amateur and professional biologists to view live interactions among marked prairie dogs; assistance to 5 organizations working to conserve prairie dogs; lectures to pre-K through high school students; 2 websites with information about prairie dogs; and frequent radio and television shows about prairie dogs. Data ManagementBehavioral and genetic data will be stored and available to the general public in databases such as the DRYAD data repository (http://datadryad.org/) and NCBI Genbank (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/).