Interference versus exploitative competition: causes and consequences

干扰与剥削性竞争：原因和后果

• 批准号: 153461-2011
• 负责人: Grant, James
• 金额: $ 2.33万
• 依托单位: Concordia University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2012-01-01 至 2013-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=506989
• 关键词: Interference; versus; exploitative; competition; causes

Organisms interact with each other in three major ways: competition, cooperation, and predation. Competitive behaviour in animals is remarkably variable within species, ranging from the peaceful sharing of resources to fierce contests. My research program investigates (1) what causes this diversity of aggressive behaviour, and (2) the consequences of aggressive behaviour for animal populations. In this proposal, we will focus on two variables: the degree of visual isolation between competitors and the average number of individuals competing for each mate (operational sex ration, OSR) or each resource unit (competitor to resource ratio, CRR). Specifically, we will test whether adding structure to an environment decreases territory size, increases population density and decreases the ability of dominant individuals to monopolize resources, and whether the scarcity of mates, the scarcity of nest sites, or both, best predict the within-sex aggressive behaviour of male and female convict cichlid fish (Amatitlania nigrofasciata). Taken together with our previous work, these findings will provide a quantitative framework for predicting the degree of aggressive behaviour in animal societies, which is fundamental to understanding the evolution of social and mating systems.

生物之间的相互作用主要有三种方式：竞争、合作和捕食。动物的竞争行为在不同物种之间差异很大，从和平分享资源到激烈竞争。我的研究项目调查(1)是什么导致了攻击性行为的多样性，以及(2)攻击性行为对动物种群的后果。在这项提案中，我们将关注两个变量：竞争者之间的视觉隔离程度和为每个配偶(操作性比，OSR)或每个资源单位(竞争者与资源比，CRR)竞争的平均个体数量。具体地说，我们将测试在环境中增加结构是否会减少领土面积、增加种群密度和降低优势个体垄断资源的能力，以及交配稀缺、巢址稀缺或两者兼而有之是否最能预测雄性和雌性卷尾鱼(Amatitlania NigroFasciata)的性别内攻击行为。结合我们之前的工作，这些发现将为预测动物社会中攻击性行为的程度提供一个量化框架，这是理解社会和交配系统进化的基础。