Female competition and maternal effects in a social mammal

Maternal effects have important roles in a broad range of ecological and evolutionary processes, such as population dynamics, phenotypic plasticity and evolutionary responses to selection. This project will investigate how female competition drives such effects in a social mammal. The student will develop and test hypotheses to investigate how the competitive environment experienced by mothers influences the growth, behaviour and fertility of their offspring. An experimental approach will utilise a model social vertebrate, the house mouse (Mus musculus domesticus), under carefully controlled semi-natural conditions. We will explore how contrasting social conditions (e.g. the presence or absence of competitors) affect maternal care and physiology, and test how the maternal competitive phenotype and social environment interact to influence offspring development (e.g. offspring growth, fertility, social behaviour and competitive ability). In addition to advancing fundamental understanding of maternal and early-life effects in a social context, this project has potential applications in the management of animal populations for conservation and other purposes. The need to better understand maternal influences under competitive conditions has been highlighted by several recent high-profile studies in natural populations. This project thus offers a timely opportunity to test emerging hypotheses. The experimental approach of manipulating the social environment in a model vertebrate allows for a rigorous context within which the student can develop and test new ideas. Combined with the application of a range of analytical techniques for assaying hormonal responses, behaviour and fertility, this promises significant new insights for understanding responses of social animals to environmental change, with impact for managing natural populations.