Secondary Reproductive Strategies

大多数哺乳动物都是滥交的，只有少数物种形成一夫一妻制的伴侣关系，但鸟类的一夫一妻制是迄今为止最常见的模式。自然选择倾向于繁殖速度最快、效率最高的个体，尤其是对雄性来说，一夫一妻制极大地限制了个体一生中所能产生的后代数量。因此，要理解为什么一夫一妻制在鸟类中如此普遍，就必须研究这种交配制度对雄性和雌性的成本和收益。虽然一夫一妻制通常被认为是水禽的典型交配制度，但最近的研究表明，在这些鸟类中，严格的一夫一妻制可能会发生变化。在某些种类的鸭子中，成对的雄性会与配偶以外的雌性求爱和交配，有些雄性可以同时拥有两个配偶。在雄性帮助配偶保护小鸭子的物种中，这种重婚行为会导致繁殖三重奏成员之间复杂的利益冲突。麦金尼博士将研究这种关系是如何形成的，以及它们如何影响有关雄性和雌性的繁殖成功率。麦金尼博士对这个物种进行了几年的圈养研究，因为雄性在照顾亲代方面的贡献是不同的，所以它非常适合进行详细的分析。将需要野外和鸟舍技术相结合。因此，将在阿根廷和秘鲁对单独标记的鸟类进行研究，以补充对圈养鸟群中鸟类关系的长期密切监测。麦金尼博士将圈养研究和实地研究结合起来，将提供对脱离严格的一夫一妻制的近似机制和功能意义的见解，因此将对我们对复杂社会系统的总体理解做出很大贡献。

Most mammals are promiscuous, only a few species forming monogamous pair bonds, but in birds monogamy is by far the commonest pattern. Natural selection favors individuals that reproduce most rapidly and efficiently and, especially for males, monogamy places great restrictions on the numbers of offspring that can be produced in an individual's lifetime. Therefore, to understand why monogamy is so common in birds, the costs and benefits of this mating system to males and females must be investigated. Although monogamy is generally considered to be the typical mating system of waterfowl, recent studies have shown that variations on strict monogamy can occur in these birds. In some species of ducks, paired males court and copulate with females other than their mates, and some males are able to hold two mates simultaneously. In species where males help their mates protect the ducklings, such bigamous behavior leads to complex conflicts of interests among the members of breeding trios. Dr. McKinney will investigate how such relationships are formed, and how they affect the reproductive success of the males and females concerned, in the South American speckled teal. Dr. McKinney has studied this species in captivity for several years, and it is ideally suited for detailed analysis because males are variable in their contributions to parental care. A combination of field and aviary techniques will be needed. Therefore, individually marked birds will be studied in Argentina and Peru to complement intensive long-term monitoring of relationships among the birds in a captive flock. Dr. McKinney's careful combination of captive and field studies will provide insights into both the proximate mechanisms and the functional significance of departures from strict monogamy, and thus will contribute a great deal to our understanding of complex social systems in general.