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

各种动物中的雌性动物都有一种非凡的生殖行为--它们在种群中其他个体的巢穴中产卵，从而寄生在这些雌性动物的父母照顾下。尽管它广泛存在于鸟类（200种）中，但促进这种行为的因素仍然知之甚少。最近的发现，寄生虫和它们的宿主可能在遗传上有联系，这也提出了一种有趣的可能性，即亲属关系在其中扮演了某种角色，模糊了进化寄生和合作之间的区别。该项目对这一育种系统进行了有史以来最全面的分析，重点是林鸭（Aix sponsa），这是一种管理关注的物种，作为一个模式系统。该研究采用了全种群的DNA基因分型，详细的观察和实验性实地研究，以及RFID（射频识别）技术，以跟踪所有繁殖雌性之间的所有筑巢行为和社会互动。这些数据使大量的，但很少测试寄生生殖行为的假设进行全面的测试。RFID标签的新应用，即所有个体都将被标记，所有巢箱都安装了阅读器，代表了一项技术的首次全人群使用，该技术可能会彻底改变野生动物社会系统和人口统计学的研究。 该项目提供了一个持续的本科生培训计划，每年将有20-30名学生实习生参与他们的第一次研究经验。还与加州水禽协会建立了合作伙伴关系，通过“木鸭奇迹”和“青年领导”方案为K-12学校团体提供实践教育。这些计划将把城市学校团体带到研究地点，直接参与科学研究。在这些项目中，超过50%的学生属于第一类低收入家庭。这个项目提供了一个巨大的潜力，让那些没有多少机会学习科学、自然世界和自身潜力的年轻人参与进来。

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.