Theoretical social evolution: predictions for fluctuating environments

理论社会进化：对波动环境的预测

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-06626
• 负责人: Wild, Geoffrey
• 金额: $ 3.42万
• 依托单位: University of Western Ontario
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=716206
• 关键词: Theoretical; social; evolution; predictions; fluctuating

Behaviors that affect the fitness of both the actor and its neighbors are called 'social behaviors.' My long-term objective is to understand how ecology influences the evolution of social behavior using a mix of mathematical modeling and computer simulation. In the short-term I will focus on the evolution of 3 categories of social behavior, with the over-arching goal of predicting the impact of unpredictable environmental conditions that fluctuate in time and space. The first category of social behavior I will study involves ones related to cooperative-breeding systems. In these systems some individuals forgo breeding opportunities to help raise offspring produced by others. Key projects will explore how cooperative breeding acts like an insurance policy to see groups through difficult times. These projects will contribute to our understanding of how social complexity evolves, especially as the environment becomes more erratic. The second category of behavior I will study involves ones related to offspring-to-parent signalling systems. In particular, I want to know why we see such tremendous variation in these systems, and about the role unpredictable environmental conditions play in shaping them. The answers I uncover will point us to the adaptive significance that underlies the many strange ways in which parents and offspring communicate. The third category I will study relates to sex allocation, i.e. the division of a parent's resources between its sons and daughters. Here, I will match predictions from well-known models of ideal theoretical scenarios with those from more realistic simulations, my goal being to make the former more useful in situations where social environments are in flux. I also propose to predict patterns of sex allocation when social groups vary with respect to heritable aspects of individual quality, and to investigate how sex allocation strategies might buffer against extinction. These final two projects are expected to impact abilities to conserve threatened vertebrate species. Together, the 3 categories of behavior capture critical times in an individual's life, beginning with interactions between the individual and its parent, and ending with the relationship between the individual and its own offspring. My program will, therefore, provide a comprehensive set of predictions about how behavior evolves in the face of uncertainty, and allow us to manage biodiversity more effectively. My track record of publication, as well as awards and honors received in the past 6 years, shows that I am well-positioned to carry out the proposed work successfully. Importantly, the proposed work is tightly linked to my plans for training highly-qualified personnel. Trainees at a various levels (from undergrad to postdoc) will be heavily involved in all aspects of my research. As evidenced by my past contributions, my trainees will acquire in-demand skills, and they will do so in an inclusive, diverse, and challenging setting.

影响参与者及其邻居的健康的行为称为“社会行为”。我的长期目标是结合数学建模和计算机模拟来了解生态学如何影响社会行为的演变。短期内，我将重点关注三类社会行为的演变，总体目标是预测随时间和空间波动的不可预测的环境条件的影响。 我要研究的第一类社会行为涉及与合作育种系统相关的行为。在这些系统中，一些个体放弃繁殖机会来帮助抚养其他个体产生的后代。重点项目将探讨合作育种如何像保险单一样帮助群体度过困难时期。这些项目将有助于我们理解社会复杂性如何演变，特别是当环境变得更加不稳定时。 我要研究的第二类行为涉及与后代到父母信号系统相关的行为。我特别想知道为什么我们会在这些系统中看到如此巨大的变化，以及不可预测的环境条件在塑造它们时所扮演的角色。我发现的答案将向我们指出父母和子女之间许多奇怪的沟通方式背后的适应性意义。 我要研究的第三类与性别分配有关，即父母在儿子和女儿之间分配资源。在这里，我将把理想理论场景的著名模型的预测与更现实的模拟的预测相匹配，我的目标是使前者在社会环境不断变化的情况下更有用。我还建议预测当社会群体在个体品质的遗传方面存在差异时的性别分配模式，并研究性别分配策略如何缓冲灭绝。最后两个项目预计将影响保护受威胁脊椎动物物种的能力。 这三类行为共同捕捉了个体生命中的关键时刻，从个体与其父母之间的互动开始，到个体与其后代之间的关系结束。因此，我的计划将提供一套关于面对不确定性时行为如何演变的全面预测，并使我们能够更有效地管理生物多样性。 我过去六年的出版记录以及获得的奖项和荣誉表明，我有能力成功开展拟议的工作。重要的是，拟议的工作与我培养高素质人才的计划紧密相连。不同级别的学员（从本科生到博士后）将大量参与我研究的各个方面。正如我过去的贡献所证明的那样，我的学员将获得所需的技能，并且他们将在包容、多元化和富有挑战性的环境中获得这些技能。