Partnerships in Birds The Study of Monogamy [Paperback]

In pairs, male and female birds appear to work as a team, competing for food, defending nests, and protecting predators, but in fact, because each individual strives to maximize its own reproductive potential, conflicts can occur if one finds a better partner. So while some birds choose one mate for life, others have many partners. In this book, fourteen classic studies of bird behavior are brought together to compare the different partnership patterns from ecological and evolutionary perspectives. Particular attention is paid to the availability of mates, the selection process and the consequences of choosing one mate over another. By comparing between and within species, each chapter outlines the features that influence a pair's reproductive performance and how this interacts with ecological and environmental constraints. Introductory and concluding chapters review the latest thinking on this fascinating subject. The book is aimed at students and researchers in behavioral ecology but can also foster new insights for bird watchers and ornithologists.

PART I: Initial Perspectives
1. Introduction: pair bonds and partnerships
2. The battle of the sexes and the origins of monogamy
3. The model family
PART II: Continuous Partnerships
4. Long-term monogamy in a river specialist - the Blue Duck
5. Do Barnacle Geese benefit from life-long monogamy?
6. Mate fidelity in swans
7. Breeding partnership in two New World jays
8. Partnerships in promiscuous Splendid Fairy-wrens
PART III: Part-Time Partnerships
9. Divorce in the European Blackbird
10. Mate fidelity and divorce in ptarmigan
11. Causes and consequences of long-term partnerships in Cassin's Auklets
12. Monogamy in a long-lived seabird: the Short-tailed Shearwaters
13. Between and within-population variation in mate fidelity in the Great Tit
14. Monogamy in the Sparrowhawk
15. Mate fidelity in penguins
16. Cal3"