In avian cooperative breeding systems, one or more nonbreeding individuals help the breeding pair to rear their young. In the Florida scrub jay, most of these nonbreeding individuals help by feeding nestlings and fledglings. The doctoral-dissertation research of Mr. Stephen Schoech will examine the hormonal mechanisms underlying the delay of breeding and the provisioning of non-descendant young. Mr. Schoech will compare the hormonal profiles of breeders and nonbreeders throughout the breeding season. Additional comparison between nonbreeders of different ages and relatedness to breeders will illuminate the importance of these factors. Mr. Schoech will also examine the importance of body condition and the availability of potential mates, and will manipulate hormone levels experimentally by giving individuals hormone implants. The combination of correlational and experimental methods should greatly augment our understanding of how seemingly mature individuals delay breeding and exhibit isolated parent-like behaviors.
