The ecology of parental care
Behavior is a response to an environment, but the capacity to show a particular behavioral response depends on an interaction between genes, development, and ecology. The strength of selection depends on how frequently a behavioral trait is expressed. Thus, understanding the ecological contexts that induce variation in parental care is critical for understanding adaptive evolution, yet the ecology of parental care is poorly understood.
While all burying beetles show superficially similar parenting, the form and regulation of care differs both within and across species. For example, larvae cannot survive without care in some species (obligate care), while in others, care is not required (facultative). Sometimes the care parents provide depends on environmental conditions; at others, the expression of care is invariant to context. Parental care strategies range from uniparental to biparental to communal breeding. This variation in care strategies provides a unique opportunity to determine the relationship between parental care and ecology. In my future work, I seek to identify the ecological conditions that influence variation and evolution of parental care using burying beetles as a system.
Above is an illustration produced by Kathryn Kollars, who recently graduated from the University of Georgia, depicting natural history of Nicrophorus orbicollis at Whitehall Forest in Georgia. Parent N. orbicollis raise their larvae on small carcasses, including small mammal and avian species. Field work for Nicrophorus species is really fun (evidence below)!
While all burying beetles show superficially similar parenting, the form and regulation of care differs both within and across species. For example, larvae cannot survive without care in some species (obligate care), while in others, care is not required (facultative). Sometimes the care parents provide depends on environmental conditions; at others, the expression of care is invariant to context. Parental care strategies range from uniparental to biparental to communal breeding. This variation in care strategies provides a unique opportunity to determine the relationship between parental care and ecology. In my future work, I seek to identify the ecological conditions that influence variation and evolution of parental care using burying beetles as a system.
Above is an illustration produced by Kathryn Kollars, who recently graduated from the University of Georgia, depicting natural history of Nicrophorus orbicollis at Whitehall Forest in Georgia. Parent N. orbicollis raise their larvae on small carcasses, including small mammal and avian species. Field work for Nicrophorus species is really fun (evidence below)!