Using intraspecific variation to study mating systems

描述（由申请人提供）：早期的观点认为交配系统是物种特有的，即在不同的种群中没有变化。随着对不同物种的多个种群的研究，很明显，种群间交配系统的差异比以前想象的要普遍得多。此外，使用没有任何修饰词的术语交配系统是有问题的，因为它混淆了雄性和雌性的社会和遗传交配系统。因此，我建议进行比较研究，以确定草原田鼠的社会和遗传交配系统的生态相关性。草原田鼠种群在其活动范围的不同地区生活在不同的气候环境中，这影响了植被的质量和分布。草原田鼠交配系统的特征以伊利诺斯州的一个种群为基础。如果交配系统受到气候及其对资源分配的影响，堪萨斯州草原田鼠可能会表现出另一种交配系统。我的目标是确定社会和遗传的一夫一妻制是否在特定的生态条件下出现。草原田鼠是一个有趣的模型系统，因为它被用作一夫一妻制和附属行为的模型。了解影响社会交配系统变化的因素（如配对关系）是理解依恋的生物学基础的关键。最终，了解社会交配关系中行为过程的可变性，也可能有助于深入了解应激反应可变性的生物学基础。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Early views considered mating systems to be species-specific i.e., did not vary among different populations. As multiple populations of different species were studied, it became evident that interpopulation differences in mating systems were more common than previously imagined. In addition, use of term mating system without any modifiers was problematic since it confounded social and genetic mating systems of males and females. Therefore, I propose to conduct a comparative study to identify ecological correlates of social and genetic mating systems using prairie voles, Microtus ochrogaster. Populations of prairie voles in different parts of their range live in habitats that differ in climate, which affects the quality and distribution of vegetation. Characterization of the mating system of prairie voles has been based on a population from Illinois. If the mating system is influenced by climate and its effects on the distribution of resources, prairie voles in Kansas may display an alternative mating system. My objective is to determine whether social and genetic monogamy are seen under certain ecological conditions. The prairie vole is an interesting model system since it has been used as a model of monogamy and affiliative behavior. Understanding factors that affect variation in social mating systems (e.g. pair bonds) are key to understanding the biological basis of attachment. Eventually understanding the variability in behavioral processes involved in social mating relationships might also provide insight into the biological basis of variability in response to stressors. I will sample prairie vole populations in eastern Kansas and east-central Illinois to determine the ecological correlates of the social and genetic mating system of females and males. Animals will be live-trapped and radio tracked to determine the social mating system. Tissue samples will be collected for subsequent genetic analysis using microsatellite primers identified for prairie voles in my laboratory previously. This study will be the first to compare the social and genetic mating systems of multiple populations of a rodent thought to be monogamous, and will allow me to design experimental manipulations to determine the factors that influence mammalian mating systems.