This project is designed to examine the degree to which the expression of several alternative maternal behaviors exhibited by Gargaphia solani, is under genetic control. It is founded upon the fact that within the same animal population, behaviors with similar functions are often so different that one response can be considered a distinct alternative to other responses. The factors determining whether behavioral alternatives stem from genetic or environmental differences among individuals are understood in only a few cases. Gargaphia provides a model system with which to examine behavioral alternatives because of the unusual maternal behaviors exhibited by these organisms: within a single populaton females either guard their offspring from predators, abandon their eggs after laying, or leave their eggs to the care and protection of another female. Furthermore, egg recipients either aggressively repel egg donors or passively accept their eggs. The existence of these and other maternal options in G. solani provides an opportunity to characterize the extent to which the expression of each alternative is regulated by genes, by environmental conditions, or by some interaction between the two. This project will examine the genetic component of behavioral alternatives associated with egg dumping and antipredator aggression by means of half-sib analyses, intra-and interpopulation comparisons, and artificial selection. Integration of this information will provide a valuable expansion of the experimental base upon which theories concerning the evolution, mechanisms, and ecology of alternative behavioral tactics can be tested.
