Collaborative Research: Life history, kinship and the evolution of alternative female reproductive strategies

雌性在各种各样的动物中追求一种非凡的生殖行为--它们在种群中其他个体的巢中产卵，从而寄生这些雌性的父母照顾。尽管它广泛出现在鸟类(200种)中，但促进这种行为的因素仍然知之甚少。最近发现寄生虫和它们的宿主可能在基因上有关联，这也提出了一种有趣的可能性，即亲属关系在一定程度上起到了作用，模糊了进化寄生和合作之间的区别。该项目对这一繁育系统进行了有史以来最全面的分析之一，将重点放在管理关注的物种--木鸭上，作为一个模型系统。这项研究使用了全种群的DNA基因分型，详细的观察和实验田野研究，以及RFID(射频识别)技术来跟踪所有繁殖雌性之间的所有筑巢行为和社会互动。这些数据使得对寄生生殖行为的众多但很少被检验的假说进行了全面的测试。RFID标签的新颖应用，所有个体都将被标记，所有巢箱都安装了阅读器，这代表着一项技术的首次在整个种群范围内的使用，这项技术可能会彻底改变对野生动物社会制度和人口统计学的研究。该项目提供了一个继续的本科生培训计划，每年将有20-30名实习生参加他们的第一次研究经历。此外，还与加州水禽协会建立了合作伙伴关系，通过“森林鸭子奇迹”和“青年领袖”计划为K-12学校团体提供实践教育。这些项目将把城市学校团体带到学习现场，直接参与科学研究。在这些项目中，超过50%的学生属于第一级低收入状态。这个项目提供了一个巨大的潜力，可以吸引机会较少的年轻人来学习科学、自然世界和他们自己的潜力。

Females in a wide variety of animals pursue a remarkable reproductive behavior - they lay eggs in the nests of other individuals in the population and thereby parasitize the parental care of those females. Despite its widespread occurrence in birds ( 200 species), the factors that promote this behavior remain poorly understood. The recent discovery that parasites and their hosts may be genetically related also raises the intriguing possibility that kinship plays some role, blurring the distinction between evolutionary parasitism and cooperation. This project undertakes one of the most comprehensive analyses of this breeding system ever done, focusing on the wood duck (Aix sponsa), a species of management concern, as a model system. The study employs population-wide DNA genotyping, detailed observational and experimental field studies, and RFID (radio frequency identification) technology to follow all nesting behaviors and social interactions among all breeding females. These data enable comprehensive tests of numerous but rarely tested hypotheses for parasitic reproductive behavior. The novel application of RFID tagging, where all individuals will be tagged and all nestboxes installed with readers, represents the first population-wide use of a technology that could revolutionize studies of animal social systems and demography in the wild. The project provides a continuing undergraduate training program, which will engage 20-30 student interns each year in their first research experience. A collaborative partnership has also been formed with the California Waterfowl Association to provide hands-on education for K-12 school groups through the "Wood Duck Wonders" and "Youth Leadership" programs. These programs will bring urban school groups to the study site to participate directly in scientific research. Over 50% of the students in these programs are Title 1 low-income status. This project offers a huge potential to engage young people who have fewer opportunities to learn about science, the natural world and their own potential.