How slow breeding can be selected in seabirds: testing Lack's hypothesis.

Proc Biol Sci

Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849-5407, USA.

Published: January 2007

The historical debate of the 1960s between group and individual selection hinged on how the slow breeding of seabirds could be explained. While this debate was settled by the ascendance of individual selection, championed by David Lack, explanations for slow breeding in seabirds remain to be tested. We examined the slowest breeding of these birds, the albatrosses and petrels (order Procellariiformes), using analyses that statistically controlled for variations in body size and phylogeny. Incubation and fledging periods appeared strongly correlated, but this turned out to be largely explained by phylogeny. Nonetheless, developmental and reproductive rates were associated with the distance to the foraging range, as predicted under the hypothesis of ecological constraints on breeding pairs, and these results were independent of body size and phylogeny. Slower breeding in these seabirds appeared associated with the rigors of farther pelagic feeding, as Lack originally hypothesized.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1685855PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2006.3724DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

slow breeding
12
breeding seabirds
12
individual selection
8
body size
8
size phylogeny
8
breeding
5
breeding selected
4
seabirds
4
selected seabirds
4
seabirds testing
4

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!