Dimorphic Traits and Evolution of Behavior

伊本9318246韦斯特内特摘要当代社会系统生物学研究采用了一种结合了进化和行为的跨学科方法，揭示了每个性别的特征可以影响另一个性别的方式背后的一般原理。更充分地了解那些雄性和雌性不同的特征，包括行为特征，如何影响其他动物的行动和生物上的成功，在许多应用领域都很重要，特别是在设计濒危物种的最佳育种计划时。从长远来看，充分了解这些基本的生物过程将为理解包括人类在内的其他物种中的雄性和雌性相互作用提供线索。韦斯特奈特博士将利用实验操作、对自由生活个体行为的观察，以及对行为的遗传后果的分析，来提供对作用于男性和女性之间互动的进化力量的理解。将对红翼黑鸟进行五项实验。第三部分将利用分子遗传学技术研究自由生活的雄性个体外表的差异如何影响交配成功的三个组成部分(在领土上筑巢的雌性数量，由领土所有者繁殖的后代比例，以及在其他雄性领土上繁殖的后代数量)。另外两个实验将测试影响女性对男性反应的不同因素。Westneat博士的研究将帮助我们理解在男女互动的背景下，外表和行为之间的关系的进化后果。

IBN 9318246 Westneat ABSTRACT Contemporary biological studies of social systems, which take an interdisciplinary approach combining evolution and behavior, have revealed that there are general principles underlying the ways in which characteristics of each sex can affect the other sex. Fuller understanding of how those traits in which males and females differ, including behavioral traits, influence both the actions of other animals and biological success are important in a number of applied areas, particularly in designing optimal breeding programs for endangered species. In the long run, a full understanding of these basic biological processes will provide clues to understanding male and female interactions in other species, including humans. Dr. Westneat will employ experimental manipulations, observations of the behavior of free-living individuals, and analyses of the genetic consequences of behavior to provide an understanding of the evolutionary forces acting on the interactions between males and females. Five experiments on red-winged blackbirds will be carried out. Three will investigate how individual variation in appearance among free-living males affects three components of mating success (number of females nesting on the territory, proportion of their young sired by the territory owner, and number of young sired in other males' territories) using molecular genetic techniques. The other two experiments will test different factors that influence female responses to males. Dr. Westneat's research will help us comprehend the evolutionary consequences of the relationship between appearance and behavior in the context of male-female interactions.