The evolution of social and sexual behaviour: conflict and cooperation

同性之间往往会为获得配偶和其他生殖资源而进行激烈的竞争。这种相互作用导致了多样化和奢侈的特征和适应的进化，例如武器和充满活力的适应。通常，男性被认为是竞争的性别，而女性则是被动或挑剔的。然而，雌性动物的竞争，甚至攻击，在整个动物王国中是普遍存在的，并直接影响到雌性动物的健康和繁殖成功。激烈的雄性对配偶的竞争也会导致配偶伤害，从而导致性冲突。以前试图解释性互动的进化通常只考虑从个人的角度-通过评估交配对繁殖成功的直接成本和收益。然而，人们期望个体最大限度地提高其包容性适应性--结合这样一个事实，即个体可以通过帮助其亲属的繁殖成功将共享基因传递给下一代。我们将试图了解亲属之间的互动如何影响性冲突和性内竞争。女性与女性之间的竞争在历史上一直被忽视，我们将尝试通过应用包容性健身方法来研究其演变。我们还将试图弥合理论和以前的实证研究之间的不和谐，通过研究人口粘度作为减少性冲突的驱动力。最后，动物不断面临着不同的社会和生态条件，必须根据现有信息反复做出最佳决策。振动通信是非常广泛的-从大象到蠕虫-被认为是昆虫的主要和祖先的通信形式。然而，由于它不是一个突出的人类感觉方式，它在很大程度上被研究人员忽视了。我们希望通过考虑振动的作用，更好地了解驱动性行为和社会行为的机制。BBSRC的主要优先领域：了解生命规则/变革性技术/生物科学促进可持续农业和食品

There is often intense competition amongst members of the same sex for access to mates and other reproductive resources. Such interactions lead to the evolution of diverse and extravagant traits and adaptations, such as weaponry and vibrant ornamentation. Typically, males are considered to be the sex that competes whereas females are passive or choosy. However, female competition, and even aggression, is widespread throughout the animal kingdom, and has direct influences on the fitness and reproductive success of the female. Intense male-male competition for mates can also lead to mate harm which results in sexual conflict. Previous attempts to explain the evolution of sexual interactions have typically only been considered from the individual's perspective - by assessing the direct costs and benefits to the reproductive success of the mating pair. However, individuals are expected to maximise their inclusive fitness - incorporating the fact that individuals can pass shared genes onto the next generation by aiding the reproductive success of their relatives. We will attempt to understand how interactions between relatives can influence sexual conflict and intra-sexual competition. Female-female competition has historically been overlooked and we will attempt to study its evolution by applying an inclusive fitness approach. We will also attempt to bridge a discord between theory and previous empirical research, by studying population viscosity as a driver of reduced sexual conflict. Finally, animals are constantly faced with varying social and ecological conditions and must repeatedly make optimal decisions based on the information available. Vibrational communication is extremely widespread - from elephants to nematode worms - and is believed to be the primary and ancestral form of communication in insects. Yet because it is not a prominent human sensory modality it has been largely overlooked by researchers. We hope to better understand the mechanisms driving sexual and social behaviours by considering the role of vibrations.Key BBSRC Priority Areas: Understanding the rules of life / Transformative technologies / Bioscience for sustainable agriculture and food