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Book Context dependent Fitness Consequences of Extra pair Paternity in Tree Swallows  Tachycineta Bicolor

Download or read book Context dependent Fitness Consequences of Extra pair Paternity in Tree Swallows Tachycineta Bicolor written by Kelly Kristen Hallinger and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Extra-pair paternity (EPP) - the siring of offspring by a male other than a female's social partner - is a widespread phenomenon in birds. Researchers have long hypothesized that EPP must confer a genetic advantage to extra-pair offspring (EPO) over their maternal half-siblings (within-pair offspring: WPO), but support for this hypothesis has been definitively mixed. This lack of consensus might have arisen because fitness differences between EPO and WPO are only apparent in some environments. Here, I examine the role that environmental context plays in shaping the relative fitness of Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) of differing paternity status. In Chapter 1, I manipulated perceived predation risk in a population of breeding adults and monitored survival, growth, and glucocorticoid stress reactivity of their nestlings. I used an alternating block design, in which the treatment applied to each nest box was reversed in successive years of study. In so doing, I discovered that EPO were larger, longer-winged, and heavier than WPO, but only in nests that had been exposed to predators. In the absence of predators, WPO were heavier than EPO, a result that was not predicted by any existing hypothesis that seeks to explain female extra-pair behavior in birds. In Chapter 2, I took advantage of historical banding and nest records, as well as archival DNA, to investigate whether environmental conditions during development influenced the relative probability of recruitment of EPO and WPO into their natal population. I was able to identify several early-life variables that impacted the likelihood of subsequent recruitment, but found no differences in recruitment between EPO and WPO under any set of early-life circumstances. In Chapter 3, I examined long-term fitness outcomes of female swallows of known paternity status who had been born on our site and recruited into the population as adults. I found that WPO survived longer and produced more fledglings than EPO, and that their superior performance was attributable to high developmental plasticity that enabled individuals reared in particularly benign environments to outperform less plastic EPO. Collectively, these findings suggest that EPO and WPO, rather than being of intrinsically different quality, as has often been assumed, may represent alternative reproductive strategies, each of which performs best in certain environments.

Book Behavioral Ecology of Neotropical Birds

Download or read book Behavioral Ecology of Neotropical Birds written by Juan Carlos Reboreda and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-04-24 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book covers central aspects of behavioral ecology, including sexual selection, social and genetic mating systems, cooperative breeding, brood parasitism, brood reduction, migration, personalities and communication. Over the past several years, Neotropical bird species from temperate to tropical latitudes of South America have been extensively studied, yielding valuable insights into the evolutionary mechanisms that drive their behavioral traits. In this book, international experts provide a general overview of main behavioral aspects. They also present the main findings of their work, including experimental approaches to testing the most accepted behavioral theory in their model systems. In closing, they propose new theoretical frameworks and future research directions. As such, the book provides a comprehensive and updated guide for all researchers, students and professionals whose work involves the study and management of birds across the Neotropical region.

Book Owl Monkeys

    Book Details:
  • Author : Eduardo Fernandez-Duque
  • Publisher : Springer Nature
  • Release : 2023-09-13
  • ISBN : 3031135555
  • Pages : 765 pages

Download or read book Owl Monkeys written by Eduardo Fernandez-Duque and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2023-09-13 with total page 765 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book integrates three decades of owl monkey research conducted since 1994 when the first and only book focused on the genus Aotus was published. Owl monkeys were one of the least understood primates then; knowledge from wild populations was only beginning to emerge and there had been some substantial research in colonies of captive individuals. The situation is very different today. Research on captive owl monkeys has continued to develop, with valuable contributions to the health and medical sciences. And there is now enough information on the behavior, ecology, conservation, and biogeography of the genus that merits a synthesis. The book synthesizes new field data on the biogeography, behavioral ecology, circadian biology, population biology and demography spanning their entire continental range from Panamá to Argentina. It includes theoretical perspectives drawn from evolutionary biology, biological anthropology, anatomy, morphology and physiology, genetics, endocrinology and conservation biology to examine a specic set of adaptations that have allowed owl monkeys to exploit the nocturnal niche while functioning in a pair-living sexually monogamous system with remarkable patterns of paternal care. The author, with 30 years of research experience with both captive and wild primates, has directed the longest project on any owl monkey species and has conducted extensive original research on their biology, adaptive radiation and behavioral ecology. His expertise and published record on both wild populations and laboratory colonies makes this book one of a kind; it presents information from both captive and wild primates and explores questions through the integration of both approaches. The volume offers some additional features that make it novel in its approach: (1) brings together a combination of senior researchers who during four decades have established captive owl monkeys as a system of study with a new generation of younger scientists who have, for the last 10-20 years, been spearheading their study in the wild, (2) presents the work of a remarkably diverse range of authors representing all countries where owl monkeys are present, as well as researchers from the U.S and Europe, and (3) offers “synthesis” chapters; in doing so, it will surely become a reference book for those specifically drawn to owl monkeys, as well as for those interested in the research topics that are covered.

Book Sperm Competition and Sexual Selection

Download or read book Sperm Competition and Sexual Selection written by Tim R. Birkhead and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 1998-08-25 with total page 806 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sperm Competition and Sexual Selection presents the intricate ways in which sperm compete to fertilize eggs and how this has prompted reinterpretations of breeding behavior. This book provides a theoretical framework for the study of sperm competition, which is a central part of sexual selection. It also discusses the roles of females and the relationships between paternal care in sperm competition. The chapters focusing on taxonomic development are diverse and cover all the major animal groups, both vertebrate and invertebrate, and plants. The final chapter provides an overview discussing the relationship between sperm competition and sexual selection in terms of both function and mechanism and how these translate into species fitness. This book will be of prime interest to behaviorists, ecologists and evolutionary biologists, suggesting new avenues of research and new ways of approaching old problems.

Book Quantitative Genetics in the Wild

Download or read book Quantitative Genetics in the Wild written by Anne Charmantier and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2014 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book gathers the expertise of 30 evolutionary biologists from around the globe to highlight how applying the field of quantitative genetics - the analysis of the genetic basis of complex traits - aids in the study of wild populations.

Book Functional Data Analysis with R and MATLAB

Download or read book Functional Data Analysis with R and MATLAB written by James Ramsay and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-06-29 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book provides an application-oriented overview of functional analysis, with extended and accessible presentations of key concepts such as spline basis functions, data smoothing, curve registration, functional linear models and dynamic systems Functional data analysis is put to work in a wide a range of applications, so that new problems are likely to find close analogues in this book The code in R and Matlab in the book has been designed to permit easy modification to adapt to new data structures and research problems

Book Current Ornithology Volume 17

    Book Details:
  • Author : Charles F. Thompson
  • Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
  • Release : 2010-09-09
  • ISBN : 1441964215
  • Pages : 201 pages

Download or read book Current Ornithology Volume 17 written by Charles F. Thompson and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2010-09-09 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Current Ornithology publishes authoritative, up-to-date, scholarly reviews of topics selected from the full range of current research in avian biology. Topics cover the spectrum from the molecular level of organization to population biology and community ecology. The series seeks especially to review (1) fields in which an abundant recent literature will benefit from synthesis and organization, or (2) newly emerging fields that are gaining recognition as the result of recent discoveries or shifts in perspective, or (3) fields in which students of vertebrates may benefit from comparisons of birds with other classes. All chapters are invited, and authors are chosen for their leadership in the subjects under review.

Book The Pied Flycatcher

    Book Details:
  • Author : Arne Lundberg
  • Publisher : A&C Black
  • Release : 2010-10-30
  • ISBN : 1408137798
  • Pages : 280 pages

Download or read book The Pied Flycatcher written by Arne Lundberg and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2010-10-30 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Pied Flycatcher is one of Europe's best-studied species. The first detailed work on it was begun in the 1930s by German ornithologists, but it was Lars von Haartman's Finnish study that both established long-term research on the species and founded many of the central themes of modern ornithology. Soon after, in the late 1940s, Bruce Campbell set up an intensive project in southwest England, which also still runs to this day. Many other eminent ornithologists followed and in 1979 Arne Lundberg and Rauno Alatalo started their own work in Sweden, Finland and latterly the north of England. A Palaearctic migrant, the Pied Flycatcher is notable for its very variable male plumage and complex territorial and polygynous breeding system. They take readily to nest boxes and have provided excellent opportunities for the study of a wide range of biological problems. This broad review of the species provides not only a detailed biology of this fascinating little bird, but a commentary on many of the most interesting problems in bird behaviour and ecology. Illustrated by Tomas Part.

Book Index Medicus

Download or read book Index Medicus written by and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 1616 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vols. for 1963- include as pt. 2 of the Jan. issue: Medical subject headings.

Book The Evolution of Parental Care

Download or read book The Evolution of Parental Care written by Nick J. Royle and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-08-09 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Parental care includes a wide variety of traits that enhance offspring development and survival. This novel book provides a fresh perspective on the current state of the study of the evolution of parental care, written by some of the top researchers in the field, and taking a broad taxonomic approach.

Book Partnerships in Birds   The Study of Monogamy

Download or read book Partnerships in Birds The Study of Monogamy written by Jeffrey M. Black and published by Oxford University Press, UK. This book was released on 1996-05-30 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Some birds mate for life, while others have many partners. Why? In this book, fourteen classic studies of bird behaviour are brought together to compare the different partnership patterns from ecological and evolutionary perspectives. Often there is a battle of the sexes, as individual birds behave in the way that serves their best interests. Introductory and concluding chapters review the latest thinking on this fascinating subject. - ;Some birds mate for life, while others have many partners. In this book, fourteen studies are brought together to compare different partnership patterns from ecological and evolutionary perspectives. The subjects have been chosen to include the same species living in different habitats (Sparrowhawks) and at different population densities (Great Tits). There are comparisons between closely related species (Mute Swans and Bewick's Swans). The studies span the globe and the behavioural gradient, from Iceland's strictly monogamous Whooper Swans to Australia's sexually promiscuous Splendid Fairy-wrens. In all cases, sexual and social relationships strongly influence a bird's survival and breeding success. -

Book Animal Communication and Noise

Download or read book Animal Communication and Noise written by Henrik Brumm and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-12-16 with total page 452 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The study of animal communication has led to significant progress in our general understanding of motor and sensory systems, evolution, and speciation. However, one often neglected aspect is that signal exchange in every modality is constrained by noise, be it in the transmission channel or in the nervous system. This book analyses whether and how animals can cope with such constraints, and explores the implications that noise has for our understanding of animal communication. It is written by leading biologists working on different taxa including insects, fish, amphibians, lizards, birds, and mammals. In addition to this broad taxonomic approach, the chapters also cover a wide array of research disciplines: from the mechanisms of signal production and perception, to the behavioural ecology of signalling, the evolution of animal communication, and conservation issues. This volume promotes the integration of the knowledge gained by the diverse approaches to the study of animal communication and, at the same time, highlights particularly interesting fields of current and future research.

Book Sexual Selection and the Barn Swallow

Download or read book Sexual Selection and the Barn Swallow written by Anders Pape Møller and published by Oxford University Press on Demand. This book was released on 1994 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An important empirical test of the theoretical predictions of sexual selection theory, this book presents a long-term field study of the monagamous barn swallow. By using information on behaviour, ecology, morphology, genetics, and evolution, the book reviews this theory and its twocomponents: male-male competition and female choice.The selective advantages of a long tail are investigated for this common bird, demonstrating such effects as mating behaviour, copulation behaviour, migration strategies, and host-parasite interactions.A rich informative text which clearly elucidates the mechanisms and consequences of sexual selection.

Book Ecology and Evolution of Cooperative Breeding in Birds

Download or read book Ecology and Evolution of Cooperative Breeding in Birds written by Walter D. Koenig and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2004-04-22 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cooperative breeders are species in which more than a pair of individuals assist in the production of young. Cooperative breeding is found in only a few hundred bird species world-wide, and understanding this often strikingly altruistic behaviour has remained an important challenge in behavioural ecology for over 30 years. This book highlights the theoretical, empirical and technical advances that have taken place in the field of cooperative breeding research since the publication of the seminal work Cooperative Breeding in Birds: Long-term Studies of Behavior and Ecology (1990, HB ISBN 0521 372984, PB ISBN 0521 378907). Organized conceptually, special attention is given to ways in which cooperative breeders have proved fertile subjects for testing modern advances to classic evolutionary problems including those of sexual selection, sex-ratio manipulation, life-history evolution, partitioning of reproduction and incest avoidance. It will be of interest to both students and researchers interested in behaviour and ecology.