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Global
Studies of Reproductive
Performance |
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Reproductive performance—clutch size,
egg size, hatching success, and fledging success—is generally predicted to evolve
in response to local ecological conditions that influence the costs of
reproduction and the ability of parents to produce and provide for offspring.
House sparrows provide an ideal system to study this idea because they have a
global distribution with individual populations having different, and often
well known, histories in that location. They are also well-studied in many
locations around the world. Dr. Marty Martin and I are trying to foster
global studies of house sparrows via HOSPnet,
an e-mail and web page based effort to foster collaboration. To date, we have
three projects published or ongoing: 1. Analysis
of genetic diversity within and among native and introduced populations of
sparrows. The paper
has been published online in Molecular
Ecology. 2.
An investigation of immune and stress
responses of sparrows from populations with different histories. A manuscript
is currently being submitted. 3. An
analysis of clutch size reaction norms from 5 well-studied populations in
Europe and North America. The data are still being collated and analyzed, and
more populations would be welcome, so contact me if you have data that might
be suitable. If you have ideas for other
comparative studies of house sparrows would be welcome, feel free to contact
Marty or me to take advantage of the network. |
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Useful links |
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