RUI: Sexual Conflict and Parental Care in Poison Frogs

交配策略与亲代抚育模式之间的关系是动物行为研究中的一个中心主题。最近，人们的兴趣集中在两性之间关于控制和分配亲代抚育给后代的冲突（性冲突）上。关于这一问题的大多数研究都集中在鸟类系统上，并且非常需要对其他分类群（例如两栖动物）进行比较分析。这项提案所涵盖的研究以两种秘鲁毒蛙为中心，这两种毒蛙在交配和育儿行为上似乎有着明显的差异，这与性冲突的差异有关。这为研究特定生态差异对交配行为（如求偶行为）和亲代抚育（如蝌蚪运输）的影响提供了机会。该提案还涉及与一位年轻的秘鲁科学家合作，在秘鲁南部的第三个物种中调查这些问题，为所调查的生态和社会因素提供更广泛的比较背景。这项研究将涉及三管齐下的方法。首先，将使用行为观察来确定野外繁殖策略的特征。其次，分子遗传分析将用于描述家庭内的遗传关系。第三，对生殖资源（小池）的实验操作将用于表征生态因素（如池大小）对成虫生殖策略（如成虫蝌蚪沉积策略）的影响。将这三种方法的结果结合起来，详细比较分析特定生态因素对交配和亲代照料策略以及性冲突的影响。更广泛的影响：这项研究将产生许多超出研究目标的科学价值的影响。首先，它将在一个以本科生为主的机构为一些本科生提供研究机会，并为一名研究生提供资金。第二，它将为一位年轻的秘鲁科学家提供一个研究机会，提高他的职业生涯，并反过来为美国和秘鲁科学家之间的合作研究对秘鲁政府官员和公民的好处和重要性提供确凿的证据。第三，该项目将与秘鲁北部坎拉奇山谷的当地居民合作进行实地考察。这将突出他们控制下的资源对科学研究的价值，从而强调当地雨林保护工作的重要性。本项目由综合生物学部和国际科学与工程办公室资助。

The relationship between mating strategies and patterns of parental care is a central theme in the study of animal behavior. Recently interest has centered on conflict between the sexes over the control and distribution of parental care to offspring (sexual conflict). Most studies of this issue have focused on avian systems, and there is an important need for comparative analyses of other taxa (e.g. amphibians). The research covered under this proposal centers on two species of Peruvian poison frogs that appear to have pronounced differences in mating and parental behaviors, associated with differences in sexual conflict. This offers the opportunity to investigate the influence of specific ecological differences on suites of behaviors involved in mating (e.g. courting behavior) and parental care (e.g. tadpole transport). The proposal also involves collaboration with a young Peruvian scientist to investigate these issues in a third species in southern Peru, to provide a broader comparative context to the ecological and social factors investigated. This research will involve a three-pronged approach. First, behavioral observations will be used to characterize reproductive strategies in the field. Second, molecular genetic analyses will be used to characterize genetic relationships within families. Third, experimental manipulations of reproductive resources (small pools) will be used to characterize the effect of ecological factors (such as pool size) on the reproductive strategies of adults (e.g. the tadpole deposition strategies used by adults). The results from these three approaches will be combined to allow a detailed comparative analysis of the effect of specific ecological factors on strategies of mating and parental care, and on sexual conflict. Broader Impacts: This research will have numerous impacts beyond the scientific merit of the research goals. First, it will provide research opportunities to a number of undergraduate students at a predominantly undergraduate institution, and funding for a graduate student. Second, it will provide a research opportunity for a young Peruvian scientist, enhancing his career and in turn providing solid evidence of the benefits and importance of collaborative research between scientists from the USA and Peru to both Peruvian government officials and citizens. Third, this project will involve fieldwork in collaboration with local residents in the Cainrachi Valley in northern Peru. This will highlight the value of the resources under their control for scientific research, and hence the importance of local rainforest conservation efforts.This project is funded by the Division of Integrative Organismal Biology and the Office of International Science and Engineering.