Growth Rate and Mature Function of Skeletal Muscle: A Constraint on the Evolution of Avian Life Histories

研究人员将检验出生后 生长速度与功能能力呈负相关 骨骼肌。 如果鸟类被这种关系所束缚 在开发过程中，他们应该能够解释 在新的早熟方面的增长率变化 孵化的小鸡和质量和程度提供的照顾， 父母 他们将直接测量功能能力， 小鸡在冷应激时产生热量的能力， 间接地由肌肉的生化属性决定， 特别是酶活性。 该项目比较altricial 物种，需要强烈的父母照顾，早熟 能够保持体温并自我进食的物种 孵化后不久。 该项目将是迄今为止为数不多的研究之一， 考虑生物体水平上对生命优化的限制- 历史适应，并应有助于理解设计 生物体更普遍。

The investigators will test the hypothesis that postnatal growth rate is inversely related to the functional capacity of skeletal muscle. If birds are constrained by such a relationship during the course of development, they shall be able to interpret variation in growth rate in terms of the precocity of the newly hatched chick and the quality and extent of care provided by the parents. They will measure functional capacity directly by the ability of chicks to generate heat in response to cold stress, and indirectly by the biochemical attributes of muscle, particularly enzyme activities. The project compares altricial species, which require intense parental care, to precocial species, which can maintain body temperature and feed themselves soon after hatching. The project will be among the few studies to date to consider organism-level constraints on the optimization of life- history adaptations and should help in understanding the design of organisms more generally.