Chapter 12 Opener: Parental care is full of puzzles

This brown booby allows (encourages?) its dominant offspring to kill a weaker sibling.

Why?

12.1 Parental care is the evolutionary product of fitness costs and benefits

Different climate and predator situations affect parental care behavior.

12.3 Paternal care in fishes and opportunities for polygyny

Mouth brooding by the Randalls Jawfish (left) and limit its opportunities to mate.

The Stickleback, by contrast experiences greater chances for polygyny.

12.4 Parental care costs female St. Peter’s fish more than it costs males

Parental care can affect males and females differently. The female in this fish experiences a greater deficit than the male.

12.5 Male water bugs provide uniparental care

Why do they do all the work?

-Back brooding behavior

- Increased egg size

- Transition from water to land

12.7 Mexican free-tailed bat mothers recognize their pups

12.8 Adoption by a female goldeneye duck

Can adoption be adaptive? How?

12.9 Call distinctiveness enables offspring recognition by parents

The cliff dwelling species has a more distinctive call making individual recognition easier for parents.

The barn swallow has a more unified call.

12.10 Reactions of nest-defending bluegill males to potential egg and fry predators

Differences reflect the certainty of the male that he has sired the offspring. Experimental groups were in the presence of “sneaky” satellite males.

12.11 Male baboons intervene on behalf of their own offspring (Part 1)

12.11 Male baboons intervene on behalf of their own offspring (Part 2)

Fathers are more likely to help their offspring than another unrelated juvenile. How would you anticipate the lineage of 12-15 in subsequent generations?

12.13 Effective begging depends on how high a baby bird can reach relative to its nestmates

Cowbirds generally lay eggs in nests of species that are smaller or shorter at hatching.

12.17 Size of a “brood parasite” nestling relative to its host species determines its survival chances

Size of the bird who parasitizes relative to the “host” helps determine success.

12.19 An avian mafioso

The European cuckoo destroys the eggs of the Reed Warbler “host”.

12.20 A product of an evolutionary arms race? (Part 1)

This bird mimics the song and appearance of the Spendid Fairy Wren.

12.20 A product of an evolutionary arms race? (Part 2)

The “host” species.

12.20 A product of an evolutionary arms race? (Part 3)

Another species of similar size, looks different and calls different and usually does not parasitize the “host”.

12.21 Sibling aggression in the great egret

12.22 Early siblicide in the brown booby

12.23 Parent boobies can control siblicide to some extent

Masked Booby Species

12.24 A honest signal of condition?

12.25 The color of the mouth gape affects the amount of food that nestling barn swallows are given

12.26 The effect of orange feather ornaments of baby coots on parental care (Part 1)

12.26 The effect of orange feather ornaments of baby coots on parental care (Part 2)

12.27 Nestling survival probability and defense of the nest by parent magpies (Part 1)

12.27 Nestling survival probability and defense of the nest by parent magpies (Part 2)