Development of Signaler and Receiver Phenotypes

交流发生在许多动物身上，通常涉及不同个体的身体特征。这些信号在各种环境中影响社会互动，但影响信号使用的自然力量尚不清楚。如果更多地了解所涉及的发展过程，沟通的许多方面，如提供虚假信息，可能会得到更好的理解。发育事件会影响信号的性质，也可能会影响他人对信号的看法和反应。对于信号来说，发展过程可能依赖于资源，也可能受到社会影响。该项目将在家雀身上测试这两种发育机制，家雀具有明显的竞争能力信号。羽毛信号对资源敏感的可能性将通过系统地控制蜕皮期间的饮食来测试。饮食的成分，如特定的氨基酸或营养素，将相互独立地进行调整。第二个假设也将得到检验，即特定类型的社会经验和与特定特征的伴侣一起影响信号的发展。此外，还将衡量个人对他人信号的反应方式的差异。可能影响这种变异的发育过程将通过操纵早期的社会经验并测量其对新奇对手羽毛的后期反应的影响来进行调查。结果在几个层面上都将是重要的。首先，它们将构成对羽毛信号可能的条件依赖性的更彻底的研究之一，将是第一个直接测试社会经验影响信号发展的研究，并将评估接收者的反应也可能对社会经验敏感的新想法。这项研究将结合功能和发展的方法，试图设计一个更完整的交流生态学理论，并扩大对表型变异如何产生的理解。拟议的活动也产生了更广泛的影响。该项目将通过整合不同层次的生物组织来推进发现，其方式将对生物学的几个相关领域产生潜在影响。它还将刺激一个广泛的研究培训计划。它将直接支持一名博士后学者和至少一名研究生。拟议的活动还将纳入更广泛的计划，促进与主要是本科院校的教职员工和学生的合作(例如，通过KyNSF-EPSCoR和KyNCRR-Brin计划)。其他学生(研究生、本科生和高中生)将从这个项目创造的研究机会中受益。这些学生将在研究的所有阶段接受培训，从构思、收集和分析数据，到向更广泛的受众展示结果。项目活动还将为课程中与常规本科课程相关的实验做出贡献，并为中级课程的讲课提供材料，说明行为研究涉及的过程。该项目产生的信息将以传统方式(期刊文章、所有与会者出席会议)、通过网络以及通过当地学校和组织的联系人传播。这样，项目激发的新知识和培训机会将产生最广泛的影响。

Communication occurs in many animals, and often involves physical traits that vary among individuals. Such signals affect social interactions in a variety of contexts, but the natural forces shaping the use of signals are not understood. Many aspects of communication, such as providing false information, could be better understood if more was known about the developmental processes involved. Developmental events affect the nature of the signal, and may also influence how others perceive it and respond. For signals, the developmental process could either depend on resources or be socially influenced. This project will test these two mechanisms of development in a bird, the house sparrow, which has a conspicuous signal of competitive ability. The possibility that plumage signals are sensitive to resources will be tested by systematically manipulating diet during molt. Components of the diet, such as particular amino acids or nutrients, will be adjusted independently of each other. A second hypothesis, that social experience of particular types and with partners of particular characteristics influence the development of the signal, will also be tested. In addition, variation in how individuals respond to the signals of others will be measured. The developmental processes that could influence such variation will be investigated by manipulating early social experience and measuring its effects on later responses to the plumage of novel opponents. The results will be important at several levels. First, they will constitute one of the more thorough studies of the possible condition-dependence of a plumage signal, will be the first to test directly that social experience influences the development of signals, and will assess the novel idea that receiver responses could also be sensitive to social experience. The study will integrate functional and developmental approaches in an attempt to devise a more complete ecological theory of communication and to expand understanding of how phenotypic variation can arise. The proposed activities also have broader impact. The project will advance discovery by integrating across levels of biological organization in ways that have potential effects on several related fields of biology. It will also stimulate a broad program of research training. It will directly support a post-doctoral scholar and at least one graduate student. The proposed activities will also be integrated into broader programs fostering collaborations with faculty and students at primarily undergraduate institutions (e.g., through the KyNSF-EPSCoR and KyNCRR-BRIN programs). Other students (at the graduate, undergraduate, and high school level) will benefit from the research opportunities created by this project. These students will acquire training in all stages of doing research, from devising ideas, collecting and analyzing data, and presenting the results to a wider audience. The project activities will also contribute to labs associated with regular undergraduate courses in the curriculum and provide material for lectures in mid-level classes illustrating the processes involved in behavioral research. Information generated by the project will be disseminated in traditional ways (journal articles, attendance at meetings by all participants), via the web, and through contacts in local schools and organizations. In this way the new knowledge and the training opportunities stimulated by the project will have the widest possible impact.