Ecuador and Galapagos Island Research: The Evolution of Cooperative Breeding in Tropical Raptors

该奖项将支持密苏里大学的John Faaborg教授和厄瓜多尔天主教大学的tijitte de Vries教授之间的合作研究。这项合作工作的目的是继续研究加拉帕戈斯鹰的一夫多妻繁殖群体，在真正的热带条件下开始对哈里斯鹰的第一次研究，并在安第斯研究地点继续观察其他猛禽。重点将放在描述这些物种的人口特征和它们生活的生态条件。合作繁殖系统似乎出现在大约3%的鸟类物种中。然而，只有两种鹰有稳定的繁殖群体，加拉帕戈斯鹰（Buteo galapagoensis）和哈里斯或湾翼鹰（Parabuteo unicinctus）。在前者中，这些繁殖群体由多个雄性和一个雌性组成，它们共享一个巢穴；在后一种物种中，这些群体显然是有帮手的一夫一妻制。通过提供关于热带猛禽筑巢习性的进一步信息，并有来自厄瓜多尔的研究人员参与，这项研究将增加我们对合作繁殖猛禽的认识，并推进发展中国家科学计划的目标。

This award will support collaborative research between Prof. John Faaborg of the University of Missouri and Prof. Tjitte de Vries of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador. The purpose of this collaborative work is to continue work on the polyandrous breeding groups of the Galapagos Hawk, initiate the first studies of the Harris Hawk in truly tropical conditions, and continue observations on other raptors in Andean study sites. Emphasis will be placed on describing demographic traits of these species and the ecological conditions under which they live. Cooperative breeding systems appear to occur in about 3% of bird species overall. However, stable breeding groups have been documented in only two hawks, the Galapagos Hawk (Buteo galapagoensis) and the Harris' or Bay-winged Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus). In the former,, these breeding groups are composed of multiple males and a single female that share a single nest; in the latter species, these groups are apparently monogamous pairs with helpers. By providing further information on the nesting habits of tropical raptors, and involving researchers from Ecuador, this research should increase our knowledge of cooperatively breeding raptors and advance the objectives of the Science in Developing Countries Program.