Ecology and Evolution of Social Behavior

这项工作涉及对橡子啄木鸟(Melanerpe Formicivorus)的社会行为进行调查，这是一种合作繁殖的物种，使用自1971年以来密集监测的完全色带种群。根据行为观察，这一物种的群体似乎由多个生殖雄性和雌性以及前几年明显未繁殖的后代组成。然而，由于之前无法准确确定群体内的亲子关系，对该物种行为的完全理解已经受到影响。这项研究将开始使用新的分子技术来解决这个问题，这些技术能够解决亲子关系的不确定性。通过澄清竞争和合作在高度复杂的橡子啄木鸟社会中的相互冲突的角色，亲子关系的确定将大大有助于理解社会行为。这种知识有可能应用于所有涉及社会性研究的领域，包括人类学、社会学和行为生态学。

This work involves investigation of the social behavior of the acorn woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus), a cooperatively breeding species, using a completely color-banded population intensively monitored since 1971. Based on behavioral observations, groups of this species appear to consist of multiple reproductive males and females along with apparently nonbreeding offspring from prior years. However, complete understanding of the behavior of this species has been compromised by previous inability to precisely determine parentage within groups. This study will initiate efforts to address this problem using new molecular techniques that are able to resolve uncertainties of parentage. Determination of parentage will contribute substantially to the understanding of social behavior by clarifying the conflicting roles of competition and cooperation within the highly complex acorn woodpecker society. Such knowledge has potential applications to all fields involving the study of sociality including anthropology, sociology, and behavioral ecology.