Multifaceted Parental Investment and its Effects on Population-level Sex Allocation Ratios in Ants.

本项目的重点是亲代投资策略的理论，预测后代的大小分布的不同模式。这项为期一年的概念验证拨款将研究自然种群中雄性和雌性蚂蚁大小的差异。这项工作将包括：(1)收集内华达山脉水生研究实验室周围地区和圣莫尼卡山脉特技牧场的标本；(2)标本的形态计量测量；(3)对数据进行复杂的统计分析，以发现模式。该项目将研究父母在其生殖策略中面临的一个基本权衡：后代的数量（就总数而言）与质量（就后代的个体大小而言）。旧的理论模型预测大小不应该变化。父母应该让所有的后代大致相同的大小。然而，较新的模型发现，在某些条件下，改变后代的大小往往是有利的。蚂蚁是测试这些竞争性想法的理想选择，因为蚁群数量众多，每年产生许多后代（也就是说，模式很容易识别）。然而，研究结果将适用于所有物种，对亲代行为的更深入了解将为物种种群的生长和调节提供洞见。

This project focuses on theories of parental investment strategy that predict different patterns of size distributions in offspring. This one-year, Proof-of-Concept grant will examine variance in size of males and females in natural populations of ants. The work will consist of: (1) Collections of specimens from the area surrounding the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Lab and at Stunt Ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains; (2) Morphometric measurement of specimens; and (3) Sophisticated statistical analyses of data to detect patterns.The project will examine a fundamental trade-off facing parents in their reproductive strategy: quantity of offspring (in terms of total numbers) versus quality (in terms of individual size of offspring). Older theoretical models predict that size should not vary. Parents should make all offspring roughly the same size. Newer models, however, identify conditions under which it is often advantageous to also vary offspring size. Ants are ideal for testing these competing ideas because colonies are plentiful and produce many offspring per year (i.e., patterns are readily identifiable). The results, however, will be relevant across all species, and a greater understanding of parental behavior will provide insight into the growth and regulation of species populations.