DISSERTATION RESEARCH:Individual Quality, and Extraterritorial Forays in Field Sparrows (Spizella pusilla).

在这个项目中，沃德博士和穆里略先生将研究鸟类在其领土内和领土之间的时空运动及其额外的相互作用。 研究人员将研究鸟类用来寻找和选择额外配对配偶的策略，雌性产生不受配对配偶影响的后代的频率，雄性质量对额外配对交配的影响以及额外配对交配的健康后果。这些信息将有助于制定有效的栖息地和景观管理措施，以保护灌木鸟类，如本研究中的麻雀。这项研究利用了一个自动跟踪系统，使研究人员能够跟踪鸟类的运动。 人们通常认为，由于领土鸟类争夺巢址、食物、配偶和其他资源，它们应该尽可能地把自己分开。这项研究测试了另一种假设，即鸟类（包括雄性和雌性）从彼此接近中受益。因此，当试图保护这种物种和其他物种时，最好的方法可能是管理能够容纳许多筑巢个体的大面积区域。此外，拉丁裔研究员穆里略先生将在当地的一个自然保护区开展“野外生存日”活动，鼓励来自尚潘地区高中的拉丁裔人选择科学职业。在野外活动期间，学生和教师将学习一系列研究动物的野外技术。亲子关系研究彻底改变了我们对鸟类交配和生殖系统的看法，然而，很少有研究关注于理解雄性和雌性用于获得额外配对交配的行为机制，这些行为如何在个体之间和随着时间的推移而变化，以及这些行为对个体整体生殖能力的相对贡献。 每一种主动搜索和被动交配坐等策略的相对使用可能取决于许多因素，如性别，年龄和个人素质。沃德博士和穆里略先生将使用一种新的技术，自动无线电遥测，监测活动和域外突袭的男性和女性领域麻雀（Spizella pussilla）在更大的地区，长时间和在夜间。研究人员还将研究鸟类进行这些突袭的行为和形态相关性。 他们将检验这样一个假设，即突袭行为的个体差异似乎与男性个体素质有关（基于歌曲表现和身体状况）。 研究人员利用先前收集的后代血液样本，研究配偶和额外配偶的质量以及戴绿帽子对男性和女性突袭行为的影响。从这项研究中收集的数据将在movebank（https：//www.movebank.org/）中存档;这是一个由马克斯普朗克鸟类学研究所托管的免费在线动物跟踪数据库。 关于麻雀的运动/活动、生殖和声学数据也将存档在伊利诺伊大学的IDEALs（伊利诺伊州获得学习和奖学金的数字环境）和沃德博士的实验室。

In this project Dr. Ward and Mr. Murillo will investigate the spatio-temporal movements of birds within and between their territories and their extra-pair interactions. The researchers will study the strategies that birds use to find and select extra-pair mates, how often females produce young that are not sired by their pair-mates, the influence of male quality on extra-pair mating and the fitness consequences of extra-pair mating. This information will contribute to the development of effective habitat and landscape management practices for protecting shrubland birds, like the Field Sparrows in this study. This study takes advantage of an automated tracking system allowing the researchers to follow the movements of birds. It is often thought that because territorial birds compete for nest sites, food, mates, and other resources they should try to space themselves as far apart possible. This research tests an alternative hypothesis that birds (both males and females) benefit from being near one another. Therefore when trying to conserve this and other species the best approach may be to manage large areas that can accommodate many nesting individuals. In addition, Mr. Murillo, a Latino researcher, will develop "Go Wild Field Day" at a local nature preserve to encourage Latinos from high schools in the Champaign area to choose careers in science. During the field day, students and teachers will learn a range of field techniques for studying animals.Paternity studies revolutionized our view of avian mating and reproductive systems, yet, very little research has focused on understanding the behavioral mechanisms used by males and females to acquire extra-pair matings, how these behaviors vary among individuals and over time, and the relative contribution of such behaviors to an individual's overall reproductive performance. The relative use of each active search and passive mating sit and wait tactics may depend on numerous factors, such as sex, age, and individual quality. Dr. Ward and Mr. Murillo will use a novel technology, automated radio telemetry, to monitor activity and extraterritorial forays in male and female Field Sparrows (Spizella pussilla) over larger areas, long periods of time and at night. The researchers will also examine the behavioral and morphological correlates of birds conducting these forays. They will test the hypothesis that individual variation in foray behavior appears to be linked to male individual quality (based on song performance and body condition). Using previously collected blood samples of offspring, the researchers propose to investigate the influence of mate and extra-pair mate quality and cuckoldry on male and female foray behavior. The data collected from this research will be archived within movebank (https://www.movebank.org/); a free, online data repository of animal tracking data hosted by Max Planck Institute for Ornithology. The movement/activity, reproductive and acoustic data on Field Sparrows will also be archived at the University of Illinois' IDEALs (Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship) and in Dr. Ward's laboratory.