动物种群数量的调节机理是种群生物学的核心问题。外源性的环境特征和内源性的个体社会行为、生理或遗传特征是调节动物种群的两类主要因素。通过同时考虑这两类因素，分析极端严酷环境下有机体的种群动态，可以深入透视生物对环境适应的本质规律。.. 青藏高原海拔高亢、缺氧稀薄、气候恶劣、植被贫乏，生活在那里的有机体面临着巨大的生存挑战。基于我们前期8年的野外工作，本项目将继续以青藏高原特有的合作繁殖物种地山雀为模式系统，围绕“环境因子 – 社会因子 – 种群参数 –种群动态”这一逻辑关系，着眼于长期、大尺度的生活史、社会行为和群体遗传数据的积累，企图阐明极端环境下动物种群动态的调节机理。

The mechanism underlying animal population dynamics is a central issue in population biology. It has been well established that environmental conditions as extrinsic regulators and social interaction in association with physiological and genetic characters of individuals as intrinsic regulators are responsible for population changes of many animal species. An approach that integrates the two kinds of regulators for organisms adapted to extremely severe environments can give insight into the pattern and process of population dynamics...The Qinghai-Tibet plateau is characterized by high elevation, low oxygen availability, rigorous climate and poor vegetation. Organisms there thus face a great challenge for surviving the extreme conditions. With the cooperatively breeding ground tits (Parus humilis) endemic to the plateau as a model species, this project will collect long-term, large-scale data on life history, social behavior and molecular genetics to explore how animal populations respond to the extremely harsh environments.