1989 — 1990 |
Ferkin, Michael H |
F32Activity Code Description: To provide postdoctoral research training to individuals to broaden their scientific background and extend their potential for research in specified health-related areas. |
Seasonal Differences in Social Behavior @ University of California Berkeley |
0.964 |
1995 — 1997 |
Ferkin, Michael |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Prolactin and Seasonal Behavior
IBN-9421529 Michael Ferkin Seasonal reproduction is typical of most species of animals. The mechanisms that underlie seasonal changes are not well characterized. The proposed research examines a new and unique effect of prolactin, a pituitary hormone, on reproductive behavior. There is considerable evidence that prolactin inhibits reproduction. However, recent evidence suggests strongly that high prolactin levels may be needed for the behaviors and physical characteristics necessary for males attract females. The apparent paradoxical role of prolactin will be examined using an unique in vivo model. Prolactin levels tend to be higher during the long days of spring and summer which corresponds to the time of year when animals are reproductively active, whereas, such levels tend to be lower during the short days of fall and winter, and correspond to the time of year when animals are reproductively quiescent. These studies will contribute results that can furnish a new perspective on physiological mechanisms and behaviors facilitating reproduction. They will provide a context within which we can understand the mechanisms underlying reproductive behavior and hormone-behavior relationships and the evolutionary processes leading to seasonal rhythms in reproduction.
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0.915 |
1999 |
Ferkin, Michael H |
R15Activity Code Description: Supports small-scale research projects at educational institutions that provide baccalaureate or advanced degrees for a significant number of the Nation’s research scientists but that have not been major recipients of NIH support. The goals of the program are to (1) support meritorious research, (2) expose students to research, and (3) strengthen the research environment of the institution. Awards provide limited Direct Costs, plus applicable F&A costs, for periods not to exceed 36 months. This activity code uses multi-year funding authority; however, OER approval is NOT needed prior to an IC using this activity code. |
Age Related Effects On Behavior and Reproduction
DESCRIPTION (adapted from the applicant's abstract): Humans generally select mates based on some features that signal the potential partner's quality. Other animals are believed to use species-specific characteristics to assess and choose partners. Furthermore, like humans, age will affect this process in animals. The studies proposed in this grant would attempt to address questions as to how the age of an individual affects its attractiveness, social behavior, reproductive behavior, and fecundity. The PI proposes to use meadow voles as the model to answer the following questions: 1) Does aging affect the attractiveness of an animal's scents to opposite-sex conspecifics? 2) Does aging affect an animal's responses to the odors of conspecifics? 3) Are the age-related changes in both an animal's responses (sensory and perceptual mechanisms) and the attractiveness of its scent (stimulus) complementary, which would suggest that they may have co-evolved? 4) Does aging affect an animal's latency to mate and its mating and reproductive success? 5) Does aging affect whether or not animals self-groom (a form of odor communication)? 6) Does the age of a vole affect its scent-marking and scent counter-marking (a competitive form of odor communication) behavior? 7) Does the age of a vole affect its social status as indicated by differences in scent-marking and scent counter-marking patterns? 8) Does age of an individual affect its hormonal milieu and are such changes correlated with observed changes in the individual's behavior and reproduction? Data from the proposed studies may provide evidence suggesting that age-related effects on reproduction in the long- and short-lived animals are similar.
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1 |
2003 — 2009 |
Wolff, Jerry George, E Olusegun Schoech, Stephan (co-PI) [⬀] Ferkin, Michael Parris, Matthew [⬀] |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Umeb - An Integrative Research Experience in Undergraduate Education
Funding from NSF will support an Undergraduate Mentoring in Environmental Biology (UMEB) program at the University of Memphis. We propose to actively involve students from underrepresented ethnic groups in environmental research, thus encouraging them to pursue professions in environmental biology as viable career choices. We plan to use research facilities at The University of Memphis and the Meeman Biological Field Station to provide a unique learning experience for participating undergraduate students. Our goals are to teach the scientific method, critical thinking, data analysis, and writing skills by directly involving students in the development and testing of hypotheses centered on environmental biology. Seven professors from a variety of science and math fields will recruit and mentor minority students from their sophomore-senior years. We have a plan to attract underrepresented students in the sciences and present them with specialty skills-oriented courses, field and laboratory research experiences, and exposure to minority role models to prepare them for professional careers in environmental biology. We have partnered with numerous private and government agencies and potential employment institutions to expose students to academic and professional role models and employment opportunities. Assessment of our program and dissemination of information will include professional presentations and manuscripts, Internet links from the University, and the use of our participants as recruiters for additional candidates. We believe that our UMEB program will nurture excitement for scientific inquiry, increase minority participation in careers in environmental biology, and provide a model for other urban institutions to increase the number of underrepresented groups actively involved in environmental research. This collaborative effort will reinforce the commitment of the mentors and the educational philosophy of our institution to NSF-funded research and education of students who are underrepresented in environmental biology.
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0.915 |
2005 — 2010 |
Ferkin, Michael |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Chemical Signals and the Risk of Sperm Competition
Sperm competition occurs when two or more males copulate with the same female and their sperm compete to fertilize the female's available eggs. For most species of mammals, sperm competition is prevalent among males. The aim of this proposal is to examine how the persistent occurrence of sperm competition has modified the physiology, morphology, and copulatory behavior of males in mammals. A major hypothesis throughout the proposal is that male mammals use chemical signals to assess the presence of nearby male conspecifics and respond to particular risks of sperm competition. Experiment 1 will test whether copulatory behavior and sperm investment are modified in relation to different risks of sperm competition. Specifically, do male voles alter their sperm investment by adjusting the number of sperm they allocate in each ejaculation? Alternatively, do males alter their sperm investment by adjusting the total number of ejaculations? The main hypothesis in Experiments 2 to 5 is that when a risk of sperm competition initially inexistent arises, males will resume copulation with the same female to increase their sperm investment. Experiments 6 and 7 will examine whether male body size affects the outcome of sperm competition. Do larger and smaller males have different or similar sperm investment strategies? Do larger and smaller males respond differently to the same risk of sperm competition? Does a larger male sire more offspring than a smaller male when they have simultaneous access to the same female and both copulate with her? This proposal will be the first in which different risks of sperm competition will be experimentally manipulated by using odors from conspecifics. Thus, for the first time an association is presented between olfactory communication and sperm competition theory. This approach is ecologically relevant. Most mammals rely on olfactory signals for same-sex competition and for attracting mates. Most importantly, the experimental approach introduced in this proposal may be applied to many other animal taxa to expand current knowledge on sperm competition and sexual selection.
Broader Impacts: The project will employ several undergraduates including women and those from under-represented groups. Students from UMEB and BRIDGE programs have worked on this project in the past and will in the future. Several prior students have won competitions for best poster and presentation at conferences. One current under represented student recently won a university wide competition for undergraduate achievement. The research synthesizes physiology, behavior, and evolution questions and has already drawn the attention of the media with popularized versions of the project in Science News and on several internet sites.
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0.915 |
2006 — 2009 |
Ferkin, Michael H |
R15Activity Code Description: Supports small-scale research projects at educational institutions that provide baccalaureate or advanced degrees for a significant number of the Nation’s research scientists but that have not been major recipients of NIH support. The goals of the program are to (1) support meritorious research, (2) expose students to research, and (3) strengthen the research environment of the institution. Awards provide limited Direct Costs, plus applicable F&A costs, for periods not to exceed 36 months. This activity code uses multi-year funding authority; however, OER approval is NOT needed prior to an IC using this activity code. |
Effects of Food Deprivation On Sexual Behavior
[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The effects of nutritional deficits on reproductive behavior are very important for a number of reasons. In society today, some people are fasting and dieting, even though food is plentiful and they can afford to eat a balanced diet. In other socioeconomic classes or in other countries (e.g., developing nations), food is scarce. Dietary restrictions can have a major impact on reproductive behavior particularly for women, in that reproduction is energetically expensive. The proposal is to use an animal model (the meadow vole) to examine the effects of food deprivation on three aspects of reproductive behavior (attractivity, proceptivity, and receptivity) as well as the mechanisms (both hormonal and metabolic) that affect these behaviors. The proposal provided new insights about the various aspects of reproductive behavior since most previous studies have only examined the effects of nutritional deficiency on one aspect of receptivity, lordosis, in females. This application provides an interesting set of experiments are proposed to examine the effects of food deprivation on attractivity, proceptivity, and receptivity as well as on the metabolic and endocrine mechanisms that mediate them. The experiments tests predictions of the metabolic fuels hypothesis and the reproduction at all costs hypothesis and determine the metabolic and endocrine signals that are necessary and sufficient to maintain reproductive physiology and the components of sexual behavior in both males and females. The proposal tests hypotheses centered on 1) the effects of food deprivation on the three components of sexual behavior; 2) the role of glucose utilization and lipid utilization on sexual behavior; 3) changes in steroid hormone concentrations (corticosterone, testosterone, and estradiol) that accompany food deprivation; 4) the role of these steroid hormones in mediating the effects of food deprivation on sexual behavior. The application is significant for its potential to expose undergraduates to research and for the new information that might be gained on the physiological regulation of sexual behavior. [unreadable] [unreadable]
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