Sexual selection, post-copulatory selection and host-parasite interactions in mammals

哺乳动物的性选择、交配后选择和宿主-寄生虫相互作用

• 批准号: RGPIN-2014-05073
• 负责人: SchulteHostedde, Albrecht
• 金额: $ 1.97万
• 依托单位: Laurentian University of Sudbury
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2017-01-01 至 2018-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=631857
• 关键词: Sexual; selection; post; copulatory; host

Sexual selection is an evolutionary process that is the result of competition among members of the same sex for mates, or the result of mate choice behaviour made by one or both of the sexes. Sexual selection can influence behavioural, morphological, and physiological traits before and after copulation. My research program seeks to understand the consequences of sexual selection for mammals in the context of reproductive investment, parasites and the immune system, and stress. Our research examines traits associated with reproduction in the Mustelidae (the group of mammals that includes weasels, mink, and otters) and relates these traits to body size in order to understand how important sexual selection is in the evolution of reproductive traits. We also study several mammal species (red squirrels, northern flying squirrels, eastern chipmunks) in Algonquin Park, Ontario, where we ask questions such as: How do stress and investment in the immune system affect health and fitness? Why are males typically more heavily parasitized than females? To answer these questions we collect data and samples from populations of these mammals and use cutting edge techniques in the lab (e.g. DNA sequencing, microscopy, hematology, endocrinology). The results from our research program will be used to develop the theoretical and empirical framework of evolutionary ecology. In addition, human activities can increase stress in wildlife, leading to conservation problems. Understanding how stress affects reproduction and survival via the immune system can provide important insights in wildlife conservation.

性选择是一个进化过程，是同性成员之间竞争配偶的结果，或者是两性或两性做出择偶行为的结果。性选择可以影响交配前后的行为、形态和生理特征。我的研究项目旨在了解在生殖投资、寄生虫和免疫系统以及压力的背景下性选择对哺乳动物的影响。我们的研究检查了鼬科（包括黄鼠狼、水貂和水獭的哺乳动物）的繁殖相关特征，并将这些特征与体型联系起来，以便了解性选择在繁殖特征进化中的重要性。我们还研究了安大略省阿冈昆公园的几种哺乳动物（红松鼠、北飞鼠、东部花栗鼠），并提出以下问题：免疫系统的压力和投资如何影响健康和健身？为什么男性通常比女性更容易被寄生？为了回答这些问题，我们从这些哺乳动物群体中收集数据和样本，并在实验室中使用尖端技术（例如 DNA 测序、显微镜、血液学、内分泌学）。我们的研究项目的结果将用于开发进化生态学的理论和实证框架。此外，人类活动会增加野生动物的压力，导致保护问题。了解压力如何通过免疫系统影响繁殖和生存可以为野生动物保护提供重要的见解。