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The Cost of Reproduction in Birds: Evaluating the Evidence from Manipulative and Non-Manipulative Studies

  • Conference paper
Population Biology of Passerine Birds

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASIG,volume 24))

Abstract

The cost of reproduction plays a pivotal role in theories of life history strategies (Cody 1966, Williams 1966, Charnov and Krebs 1974, Schaffer 1974, Stearns 1976, Ricklefs 1983). Four years ago, at the Conference of Causal and Evolutionary Aspects of the Determination of Bird Numbers, held in Wageningen, the Netherlands, I reviewed the evidence for the cost of reproduction in birds (Nur 1988a). Since then, empirical studies of the cost of reproduction have proliferated and debate concerning the significance of the cost of reproduction for the evolution of avian life history strategies has continued. For this reason, I think it worthwhile to review the current state of the empirical literature, emphasizing difficulties in evaluating the evidence for, or against, the cost of reproduction. In addition, I reanalyze data presented in Nur (1988b) concerning the cost of reproduction in the Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Point Reyes Bird Observatory, 4990 Shoreline Highway, Stinson Beach, CA, 94970, USA

    Nadav Nur

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  1. Nadav Nur
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, B.P. 5051, 34033, Montpellier Cédex, France

    Jacques Blondel

  2. Department of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, Great Britain

    Andrew Gosler  & Robin McCleery  & 

  3. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, B.P. 5051, 34033, Montpellier Cédex, France

    Jean-Dominique Lebreton

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© 1990 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Nur, N. (1990). The Cost of Reproduction in Birds: Evaluating the Evidence from Manipulative and Non-Manipulative Studies. In: Blondel, J., Gosler, A., Lebreton, JD., McCleery, R. (eds) Population Biology of Passerine Birds. NATO ASI Series, vol 24. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-75110-3_24

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-75110-3_24

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-51759-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-75110-3

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