How environmental variation shapes the relationship between cognition and signaling across North American Paridae

环境变化如何影响北美Paridae的认知和信号之间的关系

• 批准号: RGPIN-2022-03795
• 负责人: Branch, Carrie
• 金额: $ 2.11万
• 依托单位: University of Western Ontario
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=763964
• 关键词: How; environmental; variation; shapes; relationship

Despite having an arguably small set of general concerns - to survive and reproduce - animals use an incredible array of signals to communicate with each other. Within the field of animal behavior, understanding such variation is a fundamental question. Unsurprisingly, a disproportionate amount of research has investigated signals used in mate choice, as they are often exaggerated and conspicuous (e.g., peacocks' tail). This has left gaps in our knowledge relating to signal variation outside those directly involved in mate choice. Many animals only spend a short period of their lives devoted to reproduction, while outside of breeding they are concerned with surviving, and as such communicate about the presence of food and predators. Environmental pressures outside the breeding season shape individuals' behavior during the breeding season, and vice versa. To gain a more complete understanding of what drives variation in signaling, a broad approach should be taken that incorporates the ecology and life history of the signaling species. My research employs an integrative approach to understand the interplay of ecology, cognition, and signaling. I am interested in how variation in signaling is associated with differences in spatial cognition, required for survival in non-migratory, food-storing birds. Cognition is an individual's ability to acquire, process, retain, and use information, and has been linked to efficient resource acquisition and fitness. This is particularly true in North American (NA) chickadees, as they are non-migratory birds that rely on food-stores to survive the winter. Chickadees stash hundreds-thousands of food items throughout their territories in the summer and fall when food is abundant, to use later in the winter when food is scarce. These birds rely on specialized spatial cognition to recover their caches, and individuals that perform better on a spatial cognitive task are more likely to survive the winter and into the breeding season. My long-term research program aims to understand how environmental variation shapes the association between cognition and complex communication. The NA chickadee species complex provides a prime opportunity to investigate these questions as they are both highly communicative, using multiple types of vocalizations to exchange information year-round and they exhibit advanced spatial cognitive abilities for recovering food-stores. The first 5 years of my research program will focus on identifying the drivers of geographic variation across the three primary acoustic signals used by black-capped, Carolina, and mountain chickadees. These three species inhabit diverse habitats and overlap in small parts of their distributions, creating narrow hybrid zones. Using this broad comparative approach will allow me to address multiple hypotheses purported to explain geographic variation in acoustic signals and provide the foundation for understanding the relationship between signaling and cognition.

尽管有一个可以说是小的一套一般的关注-生存和繁殖-动物使用一系列令人难以置信的信号来相互沟通。在动物行为领域，理解这种变化是一个基本问题。不出所料，大量的研究调查了择偶中使用的信号，因为它们往往被夸大和引人注目（例如，孔雀的尾巴）。这使得我们对信号变异的认识存在空白，而这些信号变异并不直接涉及配偶选择。许多动物一生中只花很短的时间用于繁殖，而在繁殖之外，它们关心的是生存，并因此传达食物和捕食者的存在。繁殖季节外的环境压力会影响个体在繁殖季节的行为，反之亦然。为了更全面地了解是什么驱动了信号的变化，应该采取一种广泛的方法，将信号物种的生态学和生活史结合起来。我的研究采用综合方法来理解生态，认知和信号的相互作用。我感兴趣的是信号的变化如何与空间认知的差异相关，这是非迁徙性食物储存鸟类生存所必需的。认知是个体获取、处理、保留和使用信息的能力，与有效的资源获取和适应性有关。这在北美山雀中尤其如此，因为它们是非候鸟，依靠食物储存来度过冬天。在夏秋两季食物丰富的时候，山雀会在它们的领地里储藏成千上万的食物，以便在食物匮乏的冬天使用。这些鸟类依靠专门的空间认知来恢复它们的缓存，在空间认知任务中表现更好的个体更有可能在冬季生存并进入繁殖季节。我的长期研究计划旨在了解环境变化如何塑造认知和复杂沟通之间的关联。NA山雀物种复合体为研究这些问题提供了一个绝佳的机会，因为它们都是高度沟通的，使用多种类型的发声来全年交换信息，并且它们表现出先进的空间认知能力来恢复食物储存。我的研究计划的前5年将集中在确定的三个主要声学信号的黑帽，卡罗莱纳，山雀使用的地理变化的驱动程序。这三个物种栖息在不同的栖息地，并在其分布的小部分重叠，创造狭窄的杂交区。使用这种广泛的比较方法将使我能够解决多个假设，旨在解释声学信号的地理变化，并为理解信号和认知之间的关系提供基础。