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展示，这些展示往往是繁殖所必需的。这个项目探讨了个体在复杂展示中的表现如何和为什么不同，以及这种差异的后果。研究的重点是一种热带小鸟--矛尾山雀--复杂的杂技表演。研究人员将分析连续录制的展示地点的视频，以确定男性的求偶表现如何受到女性偏好的影响。分析将量化复杂展示中的细微变化，并确定求偶表现如何影响繁殖成功。本科生辅导是这项研究计划的一个重要方面，将促进少数族裔学生的机会。研究结果将通过非正式陈述向公众传播，发表在同行评议的期刊上，并在国际会议上公布。运动表现(执行可见的身体动作)是许多求爱表演不可或缺的组成部分，并有可能成为男性素质的重要标志。整个生物体都被用来执行这样的动作，这涉及到呼吸、肌肉能力和当前能量储备等因素；因此，运动性能可能是一个比性别选择研究中更常见的静态特征更有价值的信号。在喜好的物种中，雌性的配偶选择应该取决于她观察到的是哪些雄性。因此，重要的是量化每个雌性在其中选择的特定雄性子集之间的表型差异。这项研究将调查矛尾山雀复杂的杂技表演的表现差异的原因，以及这种差异的健康后果，特别是解决三个关键问题：1)什么因素影响显示表现的差异？2)雄性的展示表现如何影响雌性的选择？3)当有多只雌性出现时，雄性如何选择将自己的展示指向哪一只雌性？这项研究利用视频技术的进步来量化复杂求爱表演中的细微变化。研究人员将利用遗传技术来确定展示性能和雌性探视模式与遗传繁殖成功之间的关系。了解是什么导致了运动展示的差异，是理清复杂的求爱展示以及这些展示如何影响健康的第一步。所有与这项研究相关的数据将在项目完成后在佛罗里达州立大学存档至少5年。

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.