DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Evolution of cooperative breeding and paternity distribution in the Espanola Mockingbird, Galapagos

合作繁殖是一个进化悖论，因为个体放弃自己的繁殖，帮助他人照顾后代。 生殖偏斜理论提供了一个框架，了解如何合作育种的演变，但仍然几乎没有测试在社会哺乳动物和鸟类。 一种只在加拉帕戈斯的埃斯帕诺拉岛上发现的嘲鸟，为检验这一理论的关键假设和预测提供了难得的机会。这项研究的基本目标是测量在复杂的社会系统中，不同的行为决定对个体鸟类生存和繁殖的影响。这些方法包括观察标记的鸟类，育雏大小的实验操作，和遗传亲子关系分析。这项研究将有助于我们理解动物的社会性。更广泛的影响：该项目将直接支持西班牙裔女研究生的职业发展，并为厄瓜多尔和美国的本科生提供研究经验。 事实上，我们已经与厄瓜多尔建立了强有力的国际合作，这已经并将继续使两国的学生受益。

Cooperative breeding is an evolutionary paradox because individuals forgo their own reproduction and assist others in the care of young. Reproductive skew theory provides a framework for understanding how cooperative breeding evolves but remains virtually untested in social mammals and birds. Nesomimus macdonaldi, a species of mockingbird found only on Espanola Island in the Galapagos, offers a rare opportunity to test crucial assumptions and predictions of this theory. The basic goal of the proposed research is to measure the effects of alternative behavioral decisions on the survival and reproduction of individual birds within a complex social system. The methods include observations of marked birds, experimental manipulations of brood size, and genetic paternity analyses. This research will contribute to our understanding of animal sociality. Broader Impacts: This project will directly support the career advancement of a hispanic female graduate student and provide research experiences for undergraduates in Ecuador and the United States. In fact, we have developed a strong international collaboration with Ecuador which has and will continue to benefit students from both countries.