LTREB Renewal: Evolutionary Ecology of Seabird Reproductive Life Histories

Wake Forest University, Winston Salem NC

Investigators

Abstract

This project continues a 30-year study of long-lived seabirds, focusing on the causes and consequences of aging. On the Galapagos Islands, Nazca boobies live into their mid-20s, much longer than similarly-sized mammals do, and the reasons for this extended lifespan and the birds' performance in old age are of special interest. Thousands of parent-offspring relationships are known through the project's long history of placing permanent numbered leg bands on nestlings whose parents are also identified by leg bands. Over the next five years, the investigators will use these family relationships to estimate the genetic basis of aging. By combining the complete reproductive life histories of thousands of animals with social pedigrees spanning 5 generations and complete genetic pedigrees, the research team will quantify the roles of reproductive history and genotype in senescent decline. They will continue research on the effects of early life experiences on adult behavior, including the only known analog of the human "cycle of violence," connecting abuse when young to perpetration of abuse later, in a natural population. Results from this project provide the only demographic data available to the governments of Ecuador and Peru, both signatories to the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels; they are instrumental in the design of policy on seabird biology in both countries. The research team has played a pivotal role in collecting the ecological data needed for conserving endangered and threatened albatross species, including Galapagos booby species. The current project will continue to deliver these data. Plans are presented for outreach to local high schools that directly addresses state education standards on understanding how the environment, and the interaction of alleles, influences the expression of genetic traits. Workshops will be conducted in two high schools and timed to coincide with related classroom material. The lead investigator will train approximately 12 Wake Forest University undergraduates to conduct these workshops, bringing the undergraduates to the K-12 classroom environment and career possibilities there. Over 500 high school students benefit annually from these small-group workshops.