Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Part I Reproductive skew theory
- Part II Testing assumptions and predictions of skew models
- 3 Reproductive skew in female-dominated mammalian societies
- 4 The effects of heterogeneous regimes on reproductive skew in eutherian mammals
- 5 Social skew as a measure of the costs and benefits of group living in marmots
- 6 Explaining variation in reproductive skew among male langurs: effects of future mating prospects and ecological factors
- 7 The causes and consequences of reproductive skew in male primates
- 8 Sociality and reproductive skew in horses and zebras
- 9 Reproductive skew in avian societies
- 10 Reproductive skew in cooperative fish groups: virtue and limitations of alternative modeling approaches
- 11 Reproductive skew in primitively eusocial wasps: how useful are current models?
- Part III Resolving reproductive conflicts: behavioral and physiological mechanisms
- Part IV Future directions
- Taxonomic index
- Subject index
9 - Reproductive skew in avian societies
from Part II - Testing assumptions and predictions of skew models
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 February 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Part I Reproductive skew theory
- Part II Testing assumptions and predictions of skew models
- 3 Reproductive skew in female-dominated mammalian societies
- 4 The effects of heterogeneous regimes on reproductive skew in eutherian mammals
- 5 Social skew as a measure of the costs and benefits of group living in marmots
- 6 Explaining variation in reproductive skew among male langurs: effects of future mating prospects and ecological factors
- 7 The causes and consequences of reproductive skew in male primates
- 8 Sociality and reproductive skew in horses and zebras
- 9 Reproductive skew in avian societies
- 10 Reproductive skew in cooperative fish groups: virtue and limitations of alternative modeling approaches
- 11 Reproductive skew in primitively eusocial wasps: how useful are current models?
- Part III Resolving reproductive conflicts: behavioral and physiological mechanisms
- Part IV Future directions
- Taxonomic index
- Subject index
Summary
Summary
Reproductive skew theory provides a predictive theory of the extent of reproductive sharing that is expected to occur in societies consisting, at least potentially, of multiple co-breeders. Here, we discuss some of the challenges that skew theory faces as it attempts to form the basis of a unified theory of social evolution in birds. These include the problem of distinguishing potential versus actual reproductive roles, encompassing extra-group parentage and sexual conflict, predicting the distribution of group size, and determining the appropriate null model against which to test empirical results. Despite these and other problems with skew theory as currently developed, a compilation of prior studies indicates some degree of consistency with the predictions of concession or optimal skew theory. More surprisingly, a meta-analysis indicates that interspecific patterns of sociality offer reasonably good matches to the predictions of the concession model of reproductive skew. Strong support for skew theory remains lacking, and experimental tests sufficient to reject alternative skew models have yet to be performed in birds. Nonetheless, these results offer encouragement that additional theoretical work in this field may eventually yield a useful framework for understanding the remarkable diversity of avian sociality.
Introduction
An irony of kin-selection and inclusive-fitness theory (Hamilton 1964) is that these concepts, conceived primarily as a solution to the paradox of altruism, should turn out to be so useful in providing a framework for interpreting conflict among close relatives. Indeed, as more social species have been studied in detail, it has become clear that cooperation and conflict go hand in hand in most, if not all, societies.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Reproductive Skew in VertebratesProximate and Ultimate Causes, pp. 227 - 264Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009
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