Shorebird life histories at multiple levels of analysis

多层次分析的滨鸟生活史

• 批准号: 171290-2008
• 负责人: Lank, David
• 金额: $ 1.87万
• 依托单位: Simon Fraser University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2011-01-01 至 2012-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=476310
• 关键词: Shorebird; life; histories; multiple; levels

Organisms have diverse ways and schedules to survive and reproduce, referred to as their "life history strategies". This research addresses differences in life history strategies between species of small shorebirds, and also among individuals within species. When characters have strong effects on an organism's survival or reproductive success, population biologists are challenged to explain why genetic variation for such characters persists. This research explores mechanisms that permit coexistence of competing forms of such traits. I work primarily with differences in reproductive behaviour and migration behaviour of sandpipers, small shorebirds. Most of the research on reproductive behaviour involves a peculiar old-world sandpiper, the Ruff (Philomachus pugnax), in which three distinct types of males occur during the breeding season: (1) territorial males that fight for mating courts, (2) "satellite" males that do not fight, but are instead recruited to join with the normally territorial males on their courts, and (3) rare "female mimic" males, which neither flight nor display to females, but nonetheless do mate. We are studying how these three kinds of males maintain themselves in populations, how they obtain matings with females, how behaviour is regulated hormonally, and what genetic differences exist among types. Studies with related shorebird species ask why some females mate with several different males during a single breeding attempt. We are testing theories about how females may gain from having more genetically diverse offspring. In a final species, the Western Sandpiper, we are determining how migration distance affects future survivorship and reproductive rates. It appears that birds that migrate farther have higher survivorship, but breed less often, than those with shorter migrations, which would represent a "life history tradeoff". Understanding how different life histories persist helps us predict how adaptable species will be in the face of environmental changes.

生物有不同的方式和时间表来生存和繁殖，被称为他们的“生活史策略”。本研究解决了小滨鸟物种之间以及物种内个体之间的生活史策略差异。当性状对生物体的生存或繁殖成功有强烈影响时，种群生物学家面临的挑战是解释为什么这些性状的遗传变异会持续存在。这项研究探索了允许这些特征的竞争形式共存的机制。我主要研究小滨鸟矶鹬的繁殖行为和迁徙行为的差异。大多数关于繁殖行为的研究都涉及到一种奇特的旧大陆矶鹬，Ruff (Philomachus pugnax)，在繁殖季节，有三种不同类型的雄性：(1)为争夺交配场地而战的领地雄性；(2)不打架的“卫星”雄性，而是被招募加入正常的领地雄性；(3)罕见的“雌性模仿”雄性，既不逃跑也不向雌性展示，但仍然交配。我们正在研究这三种雄性是如何在种群中维持自己的，它们是如何与雌性交配的，它们的行为是如何受到激素调节的，以及不同类型之间存在什么遗传差异。对相关滨鸟物种的研究询问了为什么一些雌性在一次繁殖尝试中与几个不同的雄性交配。我们正在测试有关雌性如何从拥有更多基因多样化的后代中获益的理论。在最后一个物种，西部矶鹞，我们正在确定迁徙距离如何影响未来的生存和繁殖率。似乎迁徙更远的鸟类比那些迁徙较短的鸟类存活率更高，但繁殖频率更低，这将代表一种“生活史权衡”。了解不同的生命史是如何持续的，有助于我们预测物种在面对环境变化时的适应能力。