Testing Morphology-Dominance-Performance Framework in Bird Flight

在过去的60年里，由于气候变化的影响，全球鸟类的体重一直在下降。然而，这种慢性体重下降对飞行性能的影响尚未被探索。身体质量是一种可塑性特征，在一只鸟的整个生命阶段，每天、季节性地发生变化。身体质量也对飞行的动力需求有直接影响。一个模型，连接飞行形态的性能，同时控制时间质量波动将是有用的，在可靠地预测的性能转变形态重塑在不断变化的environment.The拟议的项目利用国家的最先进的运动跟踪摄像机和圈养斑马雀（Taeniopygia castanotis）在牛津飞行组和大山雀（山雀主要）人口Wytham伍兹监测爱德华灰色研究所的领域鸟类。在测试野生动物种群之前，我打算制作三维性能空间图，说明已知形态如何影响理论飞行性能。这将涉及确定可衡量的性能目标，在选择每一个飞行模式，如起飞，觅食，求偶显示飞行。理论预测将与斑马雀和大山雀的真实飞行性能进行比较，以了解身体质量的时间波动如何影响飞行。我将跟踪不断变化的飞行性能在整个发展的圈养斑马雀。我还将测量野生大山雀种群的性能目标，因为它们的身体质量作为引入雀鹰模型作为捕食者压力的影响而降低，除了形态和性能之间的直接缩放之外，个性和社会等级往往与行为相互作用，因此飞行。例如，在大山雀中，速度快的雄性探险家比速度慢的雄性占据了更多的中心和主导地位，在繁殖成功方面没有明显的好处。占主导地位的雄性也往往比从属的雌性更重，更快。我将使用社会网络分析和飞行室来测试人格与性能的相关性，以及通过控制大山雀和沼泽山雀种群之间的食物获取来改变体重是否会影响种间优势。总的来说，我的目标是解开形态，社会因素和性能之间的适应性相互作用。

Bird body mass has been decreasing globally over the past 60 years due to the effects of climate change. However, the impact of such chronic body mass decline on flight performance has not been explored. Body mass is a plastic trait that changes diurnally, seasonally, and throughout the life stages of an individual bird. Body mass also has a direct impact on power requirements for flight. A model that links flight morphology to performance while controlling for temporal mass fluctuations will be useful in reliably predicting the performance shifts as morphology reshapes in a changing environment.The proposed project utilizes state-of-art motion-tracking cameras and captive Zebra Finches (Taeniopygia castanotis) at the Oxford Flight Group and Great Tit (Parus major) population in Wytham Woods monitored by Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology. Before testing the wildlife population, I intend to produce three-dimensional performance space graphs on how known morphology may affect theoretical flight performance. This will involve identifying measurable performance objectives in selection per each flight mode such as take-off, foraging, and courtship display flight. The theoretical predictions will be compared with the real-life flight performance of Zebra Finches and Great Tit on how temporal body mass fluctuations may affect flight. I will track changing flight performance throughout the development of captive Zebra Finches. I will also measure performance objectives on the wild Great Tit population as their body mass depresses as an effect of introducing a sparrowhawk model as the predator pressure.Beyond direct scaling between morphology and performance, personality and social rank often interact with behaviour and therefore flight. For example, in Great Tit, fast explorer males occupy more central and dominant social positions than slower equivalents with no apparent benefits in breeding success. Dominant males are also often heavier and faster than subordinate females. I will use social network analysis and flight chamber to test how personality correlates with performance and whether body mass change by controlling food access among Great Tit and Marsh Tit populations may influence interspecific dominance. Overall, I aim to disentangle the adaptative interplay between morphology, social factors, and performance.