DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Understanding Variation in Motor Performance and Mate Choice in a Lekking Species with Complex, Acrobatic Displays

许多动物都有复杂的求偶表演，这些表演通常是繁殖所必需的。这个项目探讨了个体如何以及为什么在复杂展示的表现上存在差异，以及这种差异的后果。研究的重点是一种小型热带鸟类——矛尾侏儒鸟复杂的杂技表演。研究人员将分析展示地点的连续录像，以确定雄性的求爱行为是如何受到雌性偏好的影响的。分析将量化复杂展示的细微变化，并确定求爱行为如何影响生殖成功。本科生指导是这个研究项目的一个重要方面，并将促进少数民族学生的机会。研究结果将通过非正式报告向公众传播，在同行评议的期刊上发表，并在国际会议上发表。运动表现（可见的身体动作的执行）是许多求爱表现的一个组成部分，并且有可能成为雄性质量的重要信号。这类运动涉及呼吸、肌肉容量和当前能量储备等因素，整个机体都参与其中；因此，在性选择研究中，运动表现可能是比静态特征更有价值的信号。在交配物种中，雌性的配偶选择取决于她观察到的雄性。因此，量化每个雌性选择的特定雄性子集之间的表型变异是很重要的。本研究将探讨长尾侏儒猴复杂杂技表演差异的原因，以及这种差异对健康的影响，具体解决三个关键问题：1)什么因素影响表演表演的差异？2)男性的展示行为如何影响女性的选择？3)当有多只雌性时，雄性如何选择向哪只雌性求爱？这项研究利用先进的视频技术来量化复杂求爱表现的精细变化。研究人员将采用遗传技术来确定展示表现和雌性探视模式与遗传繁殖成功之间的关系。了解运动表现变化的原因是解开复杂的求偶表现以及这些表现如何影响适应性的第一步。所有与本研究相关的数据将在项目完成后至少5年内在佛罗里达州立大学存档。

Many animals have complex courtship displays, and these displays are often essential for reproduction. This project asks how and why individuals differ in their performance of complex displays and the consequences of that variation. Research focuses on the complex, acrobatic displays of a small, tropical bird, the lance-tailed manakin. Researchers will analyze continuously recorded video of display sites to determine how the courtship performance of males is influenced by female preferences. Analyses will quantify fine-scale variation in complex displays and determine how courtship performance affects reproductive success. Undergraduate mentoring is an essential aspect of this research program, and will promote opportunities for minority students. Findings will be disseminated to the public through informal presentations, published in peer-reviewed journals, and presented at international conferences.Motor performance (the execution of visible body movements) is an integral component of many courtship displays and has the potential to be an important signal of male quality. The whole organism is used in the execution of such movements, which involve factors such as respiration, muscular capacity, and current energy reserves; therefore, motor performance may be an even more valuable signal than static traits more commonly investigated in sexual selection studies. In lekking species, mate choice by females is expected to depend on which males she observes. Therefore, it is important to quantify phenotypic variation among the particular subset of males among which each female is choosing. This research will investigate the causes of variation in the performance of complex, acrobatic displays in the lance-tailed manakin, and the fitness consequences of that variation, specifically addressing three key questions: 1) What factors influence variation in display performance? 2) How does male display performance influence female choice? and 3) How do males choose which female to direct their displays toward when multiple females are present? This research utilizes advances in video technology to quantify fine-scale variation in complex courtship displays. Researchers will employ genetic techniques to determine how display performance and female visitation patterns relate to genetic siring success. Understanding what causes variation in motor displays is the first essential step in disentangling complex courtship displays and how these displays may influence fitness. All data associated with this research will be archived at Florida State University for a minimum of 5 years following project completion.