The ecology and evolution of behavioural plasticity

*行为可塑性是指个体根据环境（包括社会）条件的变化而改变行为的能力。与行为固定的人相比，可塑性强的人应该能够在任何特定环境下改变自己的行为，以最大限度地提高自己的成功。然而，尽管自然选择应该先验地侵蚀可塑性的变异，种群内的个体在行为可塑性水平上通常彼此之间差异很大。到目前为止，行为可塑性的这些差异为什么和如何维持的问题主要是从理论分析中解决的，而大多数实证研究已经量化了这些差异，而没有考虑它们的起源或适应价值。提出的研究目的是：1)确定有助于维持行为可塑性个体差异的机制；2)确定这些差异在新的或不断变化的环境条件下对种群长期持久性的影响。具体来说，该计划有三个主要目标：1)确定生理限制对个体可塑性表达的重要性；2)建立个性与可塑性之间的联系；3)理解性选择在认知技能和行为可塑性进化中的作用。这项研究将使用新生成的斑马雀实验数据和理论方法。该项目的研究结果将对物种保护和重新引入的保护政策具有重要意义。此外，这项研究将有助于训练概念科学家，使他们获得设计实验和产生可检验理论的有用方法技能。**

*Behavioural plasticity is the ability of individuals to change their behaviour in response to variations in environmental (including social) conditions. Compared to individuals with fixed behaviours, plastic individuals should be able to alter their behaviour to maximize their success under any given circumstance. Yet, although natural selection should a priori erode variation in plasticity, individuals within populations generally differ widely among each other in their levels of behavioural plasticity. So far, the question of why and how these differences in behavioural plasticity are maintained has been mainly addressed from theoretical analyses, while most empirical studies have quantified these differences without regard to their origin or adaptive value. The proposed research aims at i) identifying the mechanisms that contribute to the maintenance of individual differences in behavioural plasticity and ii) determining the consequences of those differences for long-term persistence of populations under new or changing environmental conditions. Specifically the proposed program has three main goals: i) determining the importance of physiological constraints on the expression of individual plasticity, ii) establishing the links between personality and plasticity, and iii) understanding the role of sexual selection on the evolution of cognitive skills and behavioural plasticity. The research will use a mix of newly generated experimental data on zebra finches and theoretical approaches. Results from this program will be particularly relevant for conservation policies for species conservation and reintroduction. Furthermore, this research will contribute to the training of conceptual scientists that will acquire useful methodological skills to design experiments and generate testable theory. **