Clutch‐size: A Comparative Study, with Special Reference to African Birds

Moreau, R. E.

doi:10.1111/j.1474-919x.1944.tb04093.x

Cited by 196 publications

(143 citation statements)

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“…Under the survivorship hypothesis, yearly adult survival probability explains clutch size through tradeoffs between current and future reproduction (Ghalambor and Martin 2001;Moreau 1944). Adults with a high probability of survival decrease clutch size to reduce energetic investment in current reproductive events, thereby maximizing their survival probability to the next breeding season.…”

Section: Survivorshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Food limitation (Lack 1948), nest predation (Ricklefs 1970;Skutch 1949;Slagsvold 1982), adult survivorship (Moreau 1944), and climate (Ashmole 1963;Cooper et al 2005;Stoleson and Beissinger 1999) have all been purported to explain clutch size variation across latitudes and taxonomic groups, yet there is no consensus on a single theoretical model. Clutch size is influenced by a number of phylogenetic and environmental constraints (Martin 2004), whose hierarchical organization (Ghalambor and Martin 2001) should allow for clutch size predictions in specific populations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Causes of reduced clutch size in a tidal marsh endemic

et al. 2008

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We tested three hypotheses of clutch size variation in two subspecies of the swamp sparrow (Melospiza georgiana georgiana and M. g. nigrescens). Swamp sparrows follow the pattern of other estuarine endemics, where clutch size is smaller among tidal salt marsh populations (M. g. nigrescens) than their closest inland relatives (M. g. georgiana). Our results support predation risk and temperature, but not adult survival, as explanations of this pattern in swamp sparrows. Coastal nests were twice as likely to fail as inland nests, and parental activity around the nest site was positively related to clutch size at both sites. When brood size was controlled for, coastal adults visited nests less often and females vocalized less frequently during visits than inland birds, which may decrease nest detectability to predators. Coastal parents waited longer than inland birds to feed offspring in the presence of a model nest predator, but there was no difference in their response to models of predators of adults, as would be expected if coastal birds possessed increased longevity. Additionally, coastal females laid more eggs than inland females over a single season, following a within-season bet-hedging strategy rather than reducing within-season investment. Coastal territories experienced ambient air temperatures above the physiological zero of egg development more often, and higher temperatures during laying correlated with smaller clutches and increased egg inviability among coastal birds. Similar effects were not seen among inland nests, where laying temperatures were generally below physiological zero. Both subspecies showed an increase in hatching asynchrony and a decrease in apparent incubation length under high temperatures. Coastal individuals, however, showed less hatching asynchrony overall despite higher temperatures. Both air temperatures during laying and predation risk could potentially explain reduced clutch size in not only coastal plain swamp sparrows, but also other tidal marsh endemics.

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Section: Survivorshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Causes of reduced clutch size in a tidal marsh endemic

et al. 2008

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“…Similarly, two extensive comparative analyses showed that birds from Neotropical forests in Panama and Peru have lower BMR (Wiersma et al 2007b;Londoño et al 2015) and, in the Panamanian birds, lower maximal metabolic rates than species from temperate latitudes (Wiersma et al 2007a). Given that tropical birds have smaller clutches, longer parental care, and higher juvenile and adult survival than their north-temperate counterparts [Moreau 1944;Skutch 1985;Martin 1996;Cardillo 2002;Russell et al 2004)], these studies support the notion that a slow 'pace of life' engenders a slow 'pace' of energy metabolism (e.g., Pearl 1928). However, it is unclear if low BMR in the tropics is a functional necessity or a byproduct of 'slow' life history, or instead is simply an outcome of living in warm, stable habitats with low requirements for thermoregulation, migration, or other energetically demanding activities (Wiersma et al 2007a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A ‘slow pace of life’ in Australian old-endemic passerine birds is not accompanied by low basal metabolic rates

et al. 2016

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. (2016). A 'slow pace of life' in Australian old-endemic passerine birds is not accompanied by low basal metabolic rates. Journal of Comparative Physiology B: biochemical, systemic, and environmental physiology, 186 (4), 503-512. A ' slow pace of life' in Australian old-endemic passerine birds is not accompanied by low basal metabolic rates AbstractLife history theory suggests that species experiencing high extrinsic mortality rates allocate more resources toward reproduction relative to self-maintenance and reach maturity earlier ('fast pace of life') than those having greater life expectancy and reproducing at a lower rate ('slow pace of life'). Among birds, many studies have shown that tropical species have a slower pace of life than temperate-breeding species. The pace of life has been hypothesized to affect metabolism and, as predicted, tropical birds have lower basal metabolic rates (BMR) than temperate-breeding birds. However, many temperate-breeding Australian passerines belong to lineages that evolved in Australia and share 'slow' life-history traits that are typical of tropical birds. We obtained BMR from 30 of these 'old-endemics' and ten sympatric species of more recently arrived passerine lineages (derived from Afro-Asian origins or introduced by Europeans) with 'faster' life histories. The BMR of 'slow' temperate-breeding old-endemics was indistinguishable from that of new-arrivals and was not lower than the BMR of 'fast' temperate-breeding non-Australian passerines. Old-endemics had substantially smaller clutches and longer maximal life spans in the wild than new arrivals, but neither clutch size nor maximum life span was correlated with BMR. Our results suggest that low BMR in tropical birds is not functionally linked to their 'slow pace of life' and instead may be a consequence of differences in annual thermal conditions experienced by tropical versus temperate species.

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“…The pioneering work of Moreau (1944) and Lack (1947) suggested that the clutch size of birds increases with latitude; that is, birds that breed near the equator tend to have smaller clutches than birds that breed away from the equator. Subsequent work has provided a rigorous justification of this trend by using two ways to demonstrate the effects of latitude.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Theoretical Investigation of the Effect of Latitude on Avian Life Histories

McNamara¹,

Barta²,

Wikelski³

et al. 2008

The American Naturalist

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Online enhancements: appendixes.abstract: Tropical birds lay smaller clutches than birds breeding in temperate regions and care for their young for longer. We develop a model in which birds choose when and how often to breed and their clutch size, depending on their foraging ability and the food availability. The food supply is density dependent. Seasonal environments necessarily have a high food peak in summer; in winter, food levels drop below those characteristic of constant environments. A bird that cannot balance its energy needs during a week dies of starvation. If adult predation is negligible, birds in low seasonal environments are constrained by low food during breeding seasons, whereas birds in high seasonal environments die during the winter. Low food seasonality selects for small clutch sizes, long parental care times, greater age at first breeding, and high juvenile survival. The inclusion of adult predation has no major effect on any life-history variables. However, increased nest predation reduces clutch size. The same trends with seasonality are also found in a version of the model that includes a condition variable. Our results show that seasonal changes in food supply are sufficient to explain the observed trends in clutch size, care times, and age at first breeding.

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Clutch‐size: A Comparative Study, with Special Reference to African Birds

Cited by 196 publications

References 0 publications

Causes of reduced clutch size in a tidal marsh endemic

Causes of reduced clutch size in a tidal marsh endemic

A ‘slow pace of life’ in Australian old-endemic passerine birds is not accompanied by low basal metabolic rates

A Theoretical Investigation of the Effect of Latitude on Avian Life Histories

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