NSERC grants at Laurentian University Subventions du CRSNG `a l ...

40Albrecht Schulte-HosteddeEvolutionary and behavioural ecology of mammals:individual and genetic approachesA grant of $22,000 per year.Une subvention de 22 000 $ par année.Discovery Grant – Subvention à la découverteIndividual fitness is often defined as the number ofoffspring produced over the course of an individual’s life,and natural selection occurs when individual differenceslead to variation in individual fitness. These differencesmay occur with respect to morphological traits such asbody size or condition, and life-history traits such as thenumber of offspring produced or the timing of breeding.My research program seeks to understand how and whyindividual variation leads to variation in fitness throughthe action of selection. I and my students will use thenorthern flying squirrel as a model to examine three areas of research. First,we are interested in why one sex is often larger than the other (sexual sizedimorphism) in many animals. To study this question, we will examine thedirection and magnitude of selection on body size. Second, we are interestedin how the environment, especially weather, affects selection on morphologicaland life-history traits. Third, we are interested in why females mate withmultiple males, and whether the litters that are the result of multiple matingsare superior with respect to individual growth rates and survival. To answerthese questions, we will establish a long-term project in Algonquin Parkusing a combination of nest boxes and live-trapping. We will also use DNAprofiling techniques to assign parentage of offspring and determine levels ofrelatedness among the adult flying squirrels. The results of this research willbe used to develop the discipline of evolutionary and behavioural ecology,as well as help answer questions of conservation interest. For example, ourwork on the effects of environmental variation on individual fitness of theflying squirrels will help predict how these animal populations may changeas global warming occurs.