Hormonal Provisioning and Cross-Generational Influences in the Wood Duck

《林鸭》中的荷尔蒙供应和跨代影响，约翰·M·伊迪和妮可·苏珊娜·奥德尔。提案#IOS-0710455这项研究将研究女性如何改变其后代的发育，而不是通过遗传或父母照料的直接影响。核心问题是雌性林鸭(Aix Spinsa)是否操纵其卵子中的激素来影响其后代的发育速度、个性类型或成年生殖行为。对于表现出幼虫寄生的物种来说，这是一个有趣的问题。幼虫寄生是一种行为，即两只或更多的雌性在同一个巢中产卵，但只有一只雌性孵化卵。在这些物种中，母体荷尔蒙可能会对它们后代未来的生殖行为产生深远的影响。为了评估这种可能性，这项研究将：(1)检查个体雌性幼崽内部和之间的卵激素变化，(2)确定卵黄激素是否影响后代的发育或个性类型，以及(3)评估雌性生殖策略(宿主与寄生虫)是否反映激素水平并可从母亲传递给后代。将从成年雌性、蛋和小鸭身上采集激素样本，对成年雌性进行行为观察，以监测它们的繁殖策略，并对从孵化到45日龄的小鸭子进行行为测试。这项研究的学术价值有两个方面：(1)它将通过整合生理学和动物行为这两个领域的研究，为一个经过充分研究的系统提供一个新的视角；(2)它将有助于为未来可能将母性特征转移给后代的工作开发一个框架。这项研究的更广泛影响包括：(1)对保护管理行动如何在生理水平上影响生物进行评估；(2)开发实习机会，允许来自不同领域的本科生和没有代表性的群体，如妇女和少数群体，参与大型实地研究，并获得动物行为研究的实践经验。

Hormonal Provisioning and Cross-Generational Influences in the Wood DuckJohn M. Eadie and Nicole Suzanne Odell. Proposal # IOS-0710455This study will examine how females may alter the development of their offspring other than by the direct effects of genetic inheritance or parental care. The central question is whether female Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa) manipulate hormones in their eggs to influence the development rate, personality-type, or adult reproductive behavior of their offspring. This is an intriguing question for species exhibiting brood parasitism, a behavior in which two or more females lay eggs in the same nest but only one female incubates the eggs. In such species, maternal hormones could have a profound influence on their offspring's future reproductive behavior. To evaluate this possibility, this study will: (1) examine variation in egg hormones within and among clutches of individual females, (2) determine if yolk hormones influence the development or personality-type of offspring, and (3) evaluate whether female reproductive tactics (host versus parasite) reflect hormone levels and are transferable from mother to offspring. Hormone samples will be taken from adult females, eggs and ducklings, behavioral observations will be conducted on adult females to monitor their reproductive tactics, and behavioral tests will be completed on ducklings from hatch to 45 days of age. The intellectual merits of this study are twofold: (1) it will provide a fresh outlook on a well-studied system by integrating two fields of inquiry, physiology and animal behavior; and (2) it will help to develop a framework for future work on the possible transfer of maternal traits to offspring. The broader impacts of the study include: (1) an evaluation of how conservation management actions may impact organisms on a physiological level; and (2) the development of internship opportunities to allow undergraduates from different fields and unrepresented groups, such as women and minority groups, to participate in a large field study and gain hands-on experience in animal behavior research.