Physiological Adaptations for Breeding in Birds

鸟类繁殖的生理适应

• 批准号: 155395-2012
• 负责人: Williams, Tony
• 金额: $ 4.37万
• 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: 2015
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2015-01-01 至 2016-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=569452
• 关键词: Physiological; Adaptations; Breeding; Birds

I have a book in press (Physiological Adaptations for Breeding in Birds) that provides a comprehensive review of avian reproduction and concludes, rather remarkably, that we have only a rudimentary, and in some cases non-existent, understanding of the physiological mechanisms underpinning reproductive traits which population studies have shown are most closely related to individual variation in reproductive success, e.g. timing of breeding, number of eggs laid, and parental care. I develop two main themes: that we must consider this topic from a female perspective and that we need to focus on individual variation, and I argue for a shift of focus in research on avian reproduction if we are to successfully integrate physiology and ecology. I will combine laboratory studies of captive-breeding zebra finches (500+ birds) with studies of free-living, nest-box breeding European starlings. In a series of correlative and experimental studies I will investigate physiological mechanisms underpinning individual variation in, a) timing of breeding, and b) parental care, integrating data on temperature, prey availability, foraging behavior, and physiology (hormone levels, metabolites, hematology) approaching this from a novel "exercise physiology" perspective derived from human sports medicine studies. A second set of experiments will validate, and then use, physiological techniques for manipulation of individual variation in clutch size to identify the hormonal control mechanisms regulating the number of eggs birds lay. The long-term goal of this research is to better integrate physiology and evolutionary biology to increase our knowledge of the physiological response mechanisms underpinning the avian life-history traits that contribute most to variation in fitness. This work is critical to enable us to develop an ability to predict, not simply track, how climate change will affect avian populations: this requires that we obtain a far better understanding of the basic, underlying physiological and hormonal mechanisms that link environmental cues and environmental conditions to reproduction.

我有一本即将出版的书（《鸟类繁殖的生理适应》），该书对鸟类繁殖进行了全面的回顾，并得出结论，相当引人注目的是，我们对支持生殖特征的生理机制只有初步的了解，在某些情况下根本不存在，种群研究表明，这些生殖特征与繁殖成功的个体差异最为密切相关，例如繁殖时间、产卵数量和亲代照顾。我提出了两个主要主题：我们必须从女性的角度来考虑这个问题，我们需要关注个体差异，我认为如果我们要成功地整合生理学和生态学，就必须转移鸟类繁殖研究的重点。我将把对圈养繁殖的斑胸草雀（500多只）的实验室研究与对自由生活、巢箱繁殖的欧洲椋鸟的研究结合起来。在一系列相关的实验研究中，我将研究个体差异的生理机制，a)繁殖时间，b)亲代照顾，整合温度，猎物可用性，觅食行为和生理学（激素水平，代谢物，血液学）的数据，从人类运动医学研究的新“运动生理学”角度来解决这个问题。第二组实验将验证，然后使用生理技术来操纵蛋窝大小的个体变化，以确定调节鸟类产卵数量的激素控制机制。本研究的长期目标是更好地整合生理学和进化生物学，以增加我们对鸟类生活史性状的生理反应机制的认识，这些性状对适应性变化贡献最大。这项工作是至关重要的，使我们能够发展一种预测能力，而不仅仅是跟踪，气候变化将如何影响鸟类种群：这需要我们更好地了解将环境线索和环境条件与繁殖联系起来的基本的、潜在的生理和激素机制。