STALK-EYED FLIES AS MODEL SYSTEM FOR RIVAL SIZE ASSESSMENT

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中的一个 由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源。子项目和 研究者（PI）可能从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金， 因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。所列机构为 研究中心，而研究中心不一定是研究者所在的机构。 攻击性是动物王国中普遍存在的社会行为的组成部分。在攻击性互动中交换的信号是一个非常重要的功能，因为它们在确定社会地位和调解获得资源方面的作用。大小关系对攻击性竞争有很大的影响。许多侵略性的信号可能会起到宣传规模的作用，对对手规模的评估似乎在管理侵略性竞赛的过程和结果中发挥了重要作用。允许进行这种评估的神经、感觉、遗传和认知机制在很大程度上仍未得到探索。阐明这些机制对于理解攻击性信号的演变和功能非常重要。柄眼苍蝇表现出形态学专业化，战斗仪式，和视觉能力，表明一个非常有前途的系统，用于研究视觉介导的机制，对手的大小评估。目前的建议的目标是建立一个模型系统，为研究对手的大小评估（a）测试是否对手的大小评估在比赛中，（B）检查在什么阶段或阶段的竞争序列，这种评估，（c）比较的重要性，眼柄与攻击性武器在对手的评估。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Aggression is a ubiquitous component of social behavior across the animal kingdom. The signals exchanged in aggressive interactions are a great functional importance due to their role in determining social status and in mediating access to resources. Size relationships exert a strong influence on aggressive contests. Many aggressive signals may function to advertise size, and the assessment of rival size appears to play an important role in governing the course and the outcome of aggressive contests. The neural, sensory, genetic and cognitive mechanisms that permit such assessments to be performed remain largely unexplored. These mechanisms are important to elucidate in order to understand the evolution and function of aggressive signals. Stalk-eyed flies exhibit morphological specializations, combat rituals, and visual capabilities that indicate an unusually promising system for the study of visually mediated mechanisms of rival size assessment. The goal of the current proposal is to establish stalk-eyed flies as a model system for the study of rival size assessment by (a) testing whether rival size is assessed in contests, (b) examining at what stage or stages in the agonistic sequence this assessment is made, and (c) comparing the importance of eye stalks versus the offensive weapon in rival assessment.