MCA: New directions in female aggression research

动物为获取食物、配偶和领地等资源而战。男性之间的争斗比女性之间的争斗更公开，因此受到了更多的关注。在这个项目中，将研究几种不同生态的果蝇物种中的雌性打斗，以确定资源类型是否影响雌性打斗。此外，还将评估女性打斗的遗传基础，以确定它是否类似于男性打斗。为了完成这一项目，调查员将接受使用快速评分方法评估女性攻击行为的培训。这位研究人员在求爱过程中对雄性和雌性之间的互动进行了广泛的研究，但在战斗行为和快速得分技术方面缺乏专业知识。这项工作的合作伙伴对果蝇模型物种黑腹果蝇的雌性攻击性进行了广泛的研究，并开发了快速行为评分。通过联合起来对三种果蝇进行实验，研究人员和合作伙伴将解决进化生物学中的基本问题。该项目将在一个新的研究领域为研究人员提供受保护的时间和资源，并将为学生在课堂和实验室中发展研究经验。同质性攻击性是一种增加获取资源的策略。男性对男性的攻击性比女性对女性的攻击性受到更多的关注，因为通常情况下，男性获得配偶的机会比女性更不公平。在这个项目中，雌性攻击性将在不同的果蝇物种中进行检测，这些物种的生物学特性不同，因此它们所需的资源也不同。此外，还将评估女性攻击性的遗传学，以确定其是否具有类似于男性的基础。研究人员将与合作伙伴合作，接受评估女性攻击行为和高通量表型鉴定方面的培训。每个合作伙伴都为项目带来了不同的专业知识。这位首席研究员对果蝇的求偶行为进行了广泛的研究，主要集中在信号及其接收方面，包括系统发育和数量遗传学方法。她曾与许多不同的物种共事，并熟悉它们的生物学。合作伙伴对黑腹黑腹潜蝇的雌性攻击性进行了广泛的研究，并在使用分子遗传学方法的同时开发了行为的自动跟踪和评分。这位研究人员和合作伙伴将与三种果蝇物种合作，解决进化生物学中的基本问题。该项目将通过提供资源和时间来推进一个新的调查领域，以补充以前的工作，从而帮助推动研究人员的职业生涯。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Animals fight for access to resources including food, mates, and territories. Fights between males are more overt than fights between females, and as a consequence have received more attention. In this project, female fighting will be examined in several fruit fly species that differ in their ecology to determine if resource type affects fighting in females. In addition, the genetic basis of female fighting will be assessed to determine if it is similar to male fighting. To accomplish this project, the investigator will be trained in assessing female aggressive behaviors using rapid scoring methodology. The investigator works extensively on interactions between males and females during courtship but lacks expertise in fighting behaviors and in rapid scoring technologies. The collaborative partner in this work has performed extensive research on female aggression in the model fruit fly species, Drosophila melanogaster, and has developed rapid scoring of behaviors. By joining together to perform experiments with three fruit fly species, the investigator and the partner will tackle fundamental questions in evolutionary biology. The project will provide protected time and resources in a new field of research for the investigator and will develop research experiences for students in the classroom and in the lab.Conspecific aggression is a strategy for increasing access to resources. Male-male aggression receives far more attention than female-female aggression, because often the access to mates is more skewed for males than for females. In this project, female aggression will be examined in Drosophila species that differ in their biology and thus the resources they require. In addition, the genetics of female aggression will be assessed to determine if it has a similar basis to that of males. The investigator will work with a collaborative partner to be trained in assessing female aggressive behaviors and in high-throughput phenotyping. Each partner brings different expertise to the project. The lead investigator works extensively on courtship behavior in Drosophila concentrating on signals and their reception, including phylogenetic and quantitative genetic approaches. She has worked with many different species and is familiar with their biology. The collaborative partner has performed extensive research on female aggression in D. melanogaster and has developed automated tracking and scoring of the behaviors while using molecular genetics approaches. Working with three drosophilid species, the investigator and partner will tackle fundamental questions in evolutionary biology. The project will help to advance the career of the investigator by providing resources and time to advance a new field of inquiry that is complementary to that of previous work.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.