ROW:  Parental Care and Reproductive Strategies of Burying  Beetles
{'Code': '08010207', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'DEB', 'LongName': 'Division Of Environmental Biology'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Tarri Joyner', 'PO_EMAI': 'tjoyner@nsf.gov', 'PO_PHON': '7032927742'}
The evolution of parental care, especially by males, is                    poorly understood in insects because it is so rare, and few                     studies exist on mating systems in monogamous species.  Male and                female burying beetles (Nicrophorus spp.) cooperate to bury small               carcasses, establish and maintain a brood chamber, feed and guard               offspring for extended periods of time.  The PI's investigations                to date suggest that the amount of paternal investment of N.                    orbicollis is dependent on a balance between the number of                      offspring reared by a deserting versus a care-giving male, the                  probability that the carcass will be taken over by another                      burying beetle and the brood killed, and the probability that a                 deserting male can find a new carcass and rear another brood                    instead of rearing the present brood.  This study will                          investigate the probabilities for each of these factors on a                    natural population in Jaffrey, New Hampshire.                                        Silphid beetles are a good choice of animal to use in the                  study of the evolution of parental care and monogamy because the                principal factors affecting the number of young that can be                     raised can be quantified and manipulated in a simple manner that                generates straight-forward results.  Moreover, the proposed                     research is highly feasible because the beetles are abundant,                   easily reared and maintained in the laboratory and easy to                      observe in the field and under simulated-field conditions.  All                 behavioral and ecological aspects if parental care and the                      results of this care can be quantified and related to each other                as components of total reproductive strategy.  The results will                 provide a detailed, holistic picture of the costs and benefits of               providing extended parental investment and will contribute to our               understanding of the evolutionary ecology of parental care.
{'FirstName': 'Michelle', 'LastName': 'Scott', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'P', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Michelle P Scott', 'EmailAddress': 'mps@christa.unh.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000454744', 'StartDate': '04/01/1989', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
{'Name': 'Trustees of Boston University', 'CityName': 'BOSTON', 'ZipCode': '022151703', 'PhoneNumber': '6173534365', 'StreetAddress': '1 SILBER WAY', 'StreetAddress2': None, 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Massachusetts', 'StateCode': 'MA', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '07', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'MA07', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'THL6A6JLE1S7', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'TRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY', 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': None}
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{'Code': '1127', 'Text': 'Evolutionary Processes'}
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