Behavioural ecology and demography of north pacific seabirds

我的研究重点是海鸟的生物学——那些只为了繁殖而上岸的鸟，否则就留在离岸的地方。海鸟寿命很长，有长期的一夫一妻制伴侣关系，通常在群体中筑巢，这使它们成为关注配偶选择和种群如何自然（和非自然）调节的生物学研究的理想对象。我之前的工作证实了1990年至2007年期间一个岛屿的气候变化与生存之间的联系。我提议的研究旨在通过2008年至2012年期间在四个偏远的太平洋岛屿上对四种鸟类的研究来扩展这一研究。将评估生存估计、生存与气候之间的关系以及岛屿间生存差异。研究结果将对我们理解海鸟、海洋生物过程和气候之间的联系产生深远的影响。我们也在研究性选择（与交配有关的进化力量，解释了展示的五颜六色、奇形怪状和常常昂贵的装饰品）和一夫一妻制，以及它们与人口的关系。揭开性选择的进化机制提供了生物学中最具争议和最有趣的问题之一。我们之前的研究首次证明了一种鸟类对另一种鸟类自然产生的装饰物的相互性选择和交配偏好，表明装饰物受到配偶选择的青睐，同时作为优势的信号，并揭示了一种具有次要感觉（触觉）功能的装饰物。我建议未来的研究将解决有关精心装饰和展示的功能以及性选择的人口后果的问题。我们的小组将研究随着个体年龄的增长，装饰和偏好是如何变化的，这如何影响一生的繁殖成功率，以及在孤立的人群中，偏好和装饰是否会发生变化。总之，我们的工作将展示气候变化和捕食行为，以及性选择的生殖决定，是如何决定人口变化的。综上所述，这些结果将有助于更好地了解海鸟生物学，对海洋野生动物的保护和管理具有广泛的意义。

My research focuses on the biology of seabirds - those birds that come to land only to breed and otherwise remain offshore. Seabirds live a long time, have long-term monogamous pair bonds, and usually nest in colonies, making them an ideal subject for biological studies concerned about mate choice and how populations are naturally (and un-naturally) regulated. My previous work confirmed a link between climate variability and survival at one island during 1990-2007. My proposed study aims to expand this with work on four bird species at four remote Pacific Islands during 2008-2012. Survival estimates, relationships between survival and climate, and inter-island differences in survival will be evaluated. The results will have profound implications for our understanding of links between seabirds, biological processes in the ocean, and climate. We are also investigating sexual selection (the evolutionary force related to mating that explains colourful, bizarre and often costly adornments displayed) and monogamy and how these relate to populations. Unraveling the evolutionary mechanisms of sexual selection has provided one of the most controversial and interesting problems in biology. Our previous research showed the first evidence for mutual sexual selection and for mating preferences by one bird species for adornments naturally occurring in another species, showed ornaments being favoured by mate choice and simultaneously acting as signals of dominance, and revealed an ornament with a secondary sensory (touch) function. My proposed future research will address questions about the function of elaborate ornaments and displays and population consequences of sexual selection. Our group will be looking at how adornments and preferences change as individuals age, how this affects lifetime reproductive success and whether both preferences and adornments vary among isolated populations. Altogether, our work will demonstrate how varying climate and predation, combined with sexually-selected reproductive decisions, all determine population change. Taken together, the results will contribute to a better understanding of seabird biology with broad implications for conservation and management of marine wildlife.