Genetics of parent-offspring communication: a reaction norm approach using inbred lines of Nicrophorus vespilloides

许多动物的后代靠向父母乞讨获得食物。虽然在过去的十年中，后代乞讨和父母对乞讨的反应已经被深入研究，但对后代乞讨和父母对乞讨的反应的遗传基础知之甚少。在这个项目中，我调查了后代乞讨的遗传基础，作为一个诚实的信号，需要和调整，在父母的照顾变化，后代乞讨。我将对埋葬甲虫Nicrophorus vespilloides的近交系进行实验，这是一种昆虫，父母为后代提供食物，后代向父母乞求食物。近交系是研究近亲之间社会互动中表现出的行为遗传学的理想选择，因为同一品系的成员可以通过实验暴露于来自一系列不同近交系的个体。在这个项目中，我专注于以下五个目标：（1）我将测试近交系之间的遗传变异，在诚实乞讨作为一个信号的需要。(2)我将测试父母对后代乞讨的反应中近交系之间的遗传变异。(3)我将测试近亲繁殖系中的遗传相关性，即作为需要信号的诚实乞讨与父母对后代乞讨的反应之间的遗传相关性。(4)我将测试兄弟姐妹之间的竞争对乞讨诚实性的影响，以此作为需要的信号。(5)我将测试父母之间的冲突对父母对后代乞讨的反应的影响。

The offspring of many species of animals obtain food by begging from their parents. Although offspring begging and parental responses to begging have been studied intensively over the last decade, little is known about the genetic basis of offspring begging and parental responses to begging. In this project, I investigate the genetic basis of offspring begging as an honest signal of need and adjustments in the parents' care to variation in offspring begging. I will conduct experiments on inbred lines of the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides, an insect in which the parents provide food for their offspring and the offspring beg for food from the parents. Inbred lines are ideal for studying the genetics of behaviours expressed in social interactions between close relatives because members of the same line can be exposed experimentally to individuals from a range of different inbred lines. In this project, I focus on the following five objectives: (1) I will test for genetic variation between the inbred lines in the honesty of begging as a signal of need. (2) I will test for genetic variation between the inbred lines in the parents' responses to offspring begging. (3) I will test for a genetic correlation among the inbred lines between the honesty of begging as a signal of need and the parents' responses to offspring begging. (4) I will test for effects of competition among siblings on the honesty of begging as a signal of need. (5) I will test for effects of conflicts between caring parents on the parents' responses to offspring begging.