RUI: A Test of How the Timing of Nesting Influences the Genetic Identity of Nestlings in a Territorial Songbird

题目：RUI：筑巢时间如何影响领地鸣禽雏鸟遗传特性的测试。提案#:9904823某些鸟类的亲代行为包括雄性和雌性。最近的研究发现，在一些物种中，雌性可能会与不是自己配偶的雄性交配。因此，巢穴可以容纳不是由雄性抚育的幼崽。从理论上讲，雄性应该尽量减少抚养另一只雄性后代的机会。斯科特·约翰逊（Scott Johnson）博士问道，雄性是否可以通过在早春筑巢来降低养育另一只雄性后代的风险。早期筑巢的雄性领地所有者应该受益于相对较少的邻居，这些邻居可能会为领地所有者的配偶产下后代。相比之下，晚到的雄鸟经常发现自己周围的雄鸟的配偶已经在孵蛋了，这使得这些雄鸟可以尝试与晚到的雄鸟配对的雌鸟繁衍后代。一种基于DNA的技术将用于确定个体的遗传身份，对怀俄明州一种小型鸣禽鹪鹩（House Wren）的早期和晚期雄性种群进行父系分析，以验证早期筑巢的雄性将更多地抚养自己的后代，而更少地抚养邻居的后代的预测。这项研究将为雄性鸟类提供新的策略信息，以确保他们抚养自己的后代，因此有助于推进我们关于行为进化的想法。此外，这可能对解释鸣禽早期繁殖的优势具有潜在的重要意义。这样的理解可能与鸣禽保护有关。这项为期一年的研究将培养一名研究生和三名本科生进行研究。

Animal Behavior ProgramNon-technical AbstractTitle: RUI: A Test of How the Timing of Nesting Influences the Genetic Identity of Nestlings in a Territorial Songbird.PI: Johnson, L. ScottProposal #: 9904823Parental behavior in some bird species involves both male and females. Recent research has found that in some species, females may mate with males who are not their mates. Nests can therefore contain young that were not fathered by males tending the nest. Theoretically, males should act to minimize their chances of rearing another male's offspring. Dr. Scott Johnson asks if males can reduce their risk of rearing another male's offspring by nesting very early in the spring. Early nesting male territory holders should benefit from having relatively few neighbors that might sire the offspring of the territory holder's mate. In contrast, late-arriving males often find themselves surrounded by males whose mates are already incubating eggs, freeing these males to attempt to sire offspring of females paired with late-arriving males. A DNA based technique for determining the genetic identity of individuals will be used to conduct paternity analyses on broods of early and late-settling males in a Wyoming population of the House Wren, a small songbird, to test the prediction that early nesting males will be rearing more of their own offspring and fewer of their neighbors offspring.This study will provide new information on the strategies used by male birds to insure that they are rearing their own offspring and so is useful in advancing our ideas concerning the evolution of behavior. Moreover, it could be potentially important in explaining the advantage of early breeding in songbirds. Such an understanding could have relevance for songbird conservation. This one-year study will train one graduate student and three undergraduate students in research.