Parental Investment and Avian Reproductive Rate: Williams’s Principle Reconsidered

Ricklefs, Robert E.

doi:10.1086/650371

Cited by 28 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 97 publications

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“…Individuals are considered to be ''immature'' only after completing the post-juvenal molt, hence they are fully grown and have survived the period of high post-fledging mortality (e.g., Styrsky et al 2005;Ricklefs 2010). To the extent that the survival rate of immature birds at the time of sampling is lower than that of adults, S will tend to be underestimated.…”

Section: Effect Of Collecting Biasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Annual adult survival in several new world passerine birds based on age ratios in museum collections

2010

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We estimated annual survival from proportions of first-year and older birds in museum collections of several species of North American and Neotropical passerine birds (Order Passeriformes). The quality of estimates of survival from museum specimens depends on accurate aging, usually based on plumage markers, and unbiased collecting. The advantages of an age-ratio approach are broad temporal and geographic sampling, large sample sizes, reduced bias from adult dispersal, and access to species and areas not readily sampled in mark-recapture studies. Biases in estimated survival due to sex-and agebased biases in collecting are discussed in detail. Survival estimates were higher in tropical compared to temperate populations/species in Pyrocephalus, Icterus, Pheucticus, and Cyanocompsa, but not Catharus. In seven of nine North American species, estimates of survival from museum collections exceeded those obtained in local MAPS mark-recapture studies. Generalizations concerning adult survival rates in natural populations continue to be elusive, but the use of a variety of estimation approaches will enrich the empirical database and strengthen confidence in perceived patterns of life-history traits.Zusammenfassung Wir haben die jährlichen Ü berlebenswahrscheinlichkeiten von mehreren Arten nordamerikanischer und neotropischer Sperlingsvögel (Ordnung Passeriformes) aus dem Zahlenverhältnis von 1-jährigen zu älteren Vögeln in Museumssammlungen abgeschätzt. Die Verlässlichkeit der Schätzung von Ü berlebensraten aus Museumsbälgen hängt von der genauen Altersbestimmung ab, die meist auf Gefiedermerkmalen beruhen, und der Zufälligkeit des Sammelns. Vorteile der AltersklassenMethode sind ihre breite geografische und zeitliche Anwendbarkeit, hohe Probenzahlen, reduzierter Einfluss der Wanderung adulter Tiere sowie Anwendbarkeit auf Arten oder Gebiete, bei denen Fang-Wiederfang-Studien nicht gut anwendbar sind. Erwartete Fehler bei der Schätzung durch geschlechts-oder alters-abhängiges Sammeln werden ausführlich diskutiert. Die gefundenen Ü berlebensraten waren höher in tropischen als in temperaten Populationen bzw. Arten von Pyrocephalus, Icterus, Pheucticus und Cyanocompsa, nicht aber bei Catharus. In sieben von neun nordamerikanischen Arten waren die mit der AltersklassenMethode geschätzten Ü berlebensraten höher als die aus lokalen MAPS Fang-Wiederfang-Studien. Allgemein gültige Aussagen zu Ü berlebenswahrscheinlichkeiten in natürlichen Vogelpopulationen sind mangels weiterhin schwierig. Die Anwendung verschiedener Schätzmethoden bietet die Möglichkeit, die empirische Datengrundlage zu verbreitern und damit life-history-Vergleiche auf eine bessere Grundlagen zu stellen.R. E. Shea: Deceased.Communicated by F. Bairlein.

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Section: Effect Of Collecting Biasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Annual adult survival in several new world passerine birds based on age ratios in museum collections

2010

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“…This experimental evidence prompted us to ask whether variation in plasma concentrations of corticosterone and testosterone is associated with variation among species in life-history traits. We supposed that longer-lived species, which should invest more in the preservation of self (but see Ricklefs 2010), reach higher stress-induced corticosterone concentrations during acute stressful events than shorter-lived species (see also Wingfield et al 1995;Ricklefs & Wikelski 2002). Conversely, we predicted that shorter-lived species, which should invest more heavily in reproduction than in survival, would exhibit higher testosterone concentrations during the courtship and mating phases of the breeding season compared with longer-lived species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Corticosterone, testosterone and life-history strategies of birds

et al. 2010

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Steroid hormones have similar functions across vertebrates, but circulating concentrations can vary dramatically among species. We examined the hypothesis that variation in titres of corticosterone (Cort) and testosterone (T) is related to life-history traits of avian species. We predicted that Cort would reach higher levels under stress in species with higher annual adult survival rates since Cort is thought to promote physiological and behavioural responses that reduce risk to the individual. Conversely, we predicted that peak T during the breeding season would be higher in short-lived species with high mating effort as this hormone is known to promote male fecundity traits. We quantified circulating hormone concentrations and key life-history traits (annual adult survival rate, breeding season length, body mass) in males of free-living bird species during the breeding season at a temperate site (northern USA) and a tropical site (central Panama). We analysed our original data by themselves, and also combined with published data on passerine birds to enhance sample size. In both approaches, variation in baseline Cort (Cort0) among species was inversely related to breeding season length and body mass. Stress-induced corticosterone (MaxCort) also varied inversely with body mass and, as predicted, also varied positively with annual adult survival rates. Furthermore, species from drier and colder environments exhibited lower MaxCort than mesic and tropical species; T was lowest in species from tropical environments. These findings suggest that Cort0, MaxCort and T modulate key vertebrate life-history responses to the environment, with Cort0 supporting energetically demanding processes, MaxCort promoting survival and T being related to mating success.

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“…[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. Subsequent studies, however, have not always supported Lack's conclusions about the primary importance of factors that affect birds directly, such as predation risk and food availability, and indirectly, such as seasonality (2,6,12,13).…”

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Energetics, lifestyle, and reproduction in birds

Sibly

Witt

Wright

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

118

135

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Theoretical and empirical studies of life history aim to account for resource allocation to the different components of fitness: survival, growth, and reproduction. The pioneering evolutionary ecologist David Lack [(1968) Ecological Adaptations for Breeding in Birds (Methuen and Co., London)] suggested that reproductive output in birds reflects adaptation to environmental factors such as availability of food and risk of predation, but subsequent studies have not always supported Lack's interpretation. Here using a dataset for 980 bird species (Dataset S1), a phylogeny, and an explicit measure of reproductive productivity, we test predictions for how mass-specific productivity varies with body size, phylogeny, and lifestyle traits. We find that productivity varies negatively with body size and energetic demands of parental care and positively with extrinsic mortality. Specifically: (i) altricial species are 50% less productive than precocial species; (ii) species with female-only care of offspring are about 20% less productive than species with other methods of parental care; (iii) nonmigrants are 14% less productive than migrants; (iv) frugivores and nectarivores are about 20% less productive than those eating other foods; and (v) pelagic foragers are 40% less productive than those feeding in other habitats. A strong signal of phylogeny suggests that syndromes of similar life-history traits tend to be conservative within clades but also to have evolved independently in different clades. Our results generally support both Lack's pioneering studies and subsequent research on avian life history. D avid Lack's classic account of ecological adaptations for breeding in birds (1) influenced generations of evolutionary ecologists who have had the benefit of more data and better methods of analysis (e.g., refs. 2-11). Subsequent studies, however, have not always supported Lack's conclusions about the primary importance of factors that affect birds directly, such as predation risk and food availability, and indirectly, such as seasonality (2,6,12,13).Subsequent to Lack's classic study, life-history theory explored adaptive resolutions of trade-offs in allocation of limited time, energy, and material resources to survival, growth, and reproduction (e.g., refs. 14-16). Here we use a larger dataset and improved phylogenetic analyses to document how reproductive output varies with body size and other aspects of avian lifestyle, such as parental care, diet, foraging mode, and migratory status. As our measure of reproductive output, we use the rate of production of reproductive biomass, termed productivity hereafter, and calculate for each species as (egg mass) × (number of eggs per clutch) × (clutch frequency, i.e., number of successful clutches per year) all divided by body mass. Egg production is fueled by metabolism, so the mass-specific rate of productivity should scale negatively with body size, roughly similarly to mass-specific metabolic rate (17). Furthermore, environmental limits on energy supply and physiological an...

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Parental Investment and Avian Reproductive Rate: Williams’s Principle Reconsidered

Cited by 28 publications

References 97 publications

Annual adult survival in several new world passerine birds based on age ratios in museum collections

Annual adult survival in several new world passerine birds based on age ratios in museum collections

Corticosterone, testosterone and life-history strategies of birds

Energetics, lifestyle, and reproduction in birds

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