Genetics of parent-offspring communication: a reaction norm approach using inbred lines of Nicrophorus vespilloides

The offspring of many species of animals obtain food by begging from their parents. Although offspring begging and parental responses to begging have been studied intensively over the last decade, little is known about the genetic basis of offspring begging and parental responses to begging. In this project, I investigate the genetic basis of offspring begging as an honest signal of need and adjustments in the parents' care to variation in offspring begging. I will conduct experiments on inbred lines of the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides, an insect in which the parents provide food for their offspring and the offspring beg for food from the parents. Inbred lines are ideal for studying the genetics of behaviours expressed in social interactions between close relatives because members of the same line can be exposed experimentally to individuals from a range of different inbred lines. In this project, I focus on the following five objectives: (1) I will test for genetic variation between the inbred lines in the honesty of begging as a signal of need. (2) I will test for genetic variation between the inbred lines in the parents' responses to offspring begging. (3) I will test for a genetic correlation among the inbred lines between the honesty of begging as a signal of need and the parents' responses to offspring begging. (4) I will test for effects of competition among siblings on the honesty of begging as a signal of need. (5) I will test for effects of conflicts between caring parents on the parents' responses to offspring begging.