Avian eggs contain substantial amounts of maternal hormones and so provide an excellent
model to study hormone-mediated maternal effects. We review this new and rapidly evolving …

Maternal effects can adaptively modulate offspring developmental trajectories in variable but
predictable environments. Hormone synthesis is sensitive to environmental factors, and …

Physiological Adaptations for Breeding in Birds is the most current and comprehensive
account of research on avian reproduction. It develops two unique themes: the consideration …

In species where offspring fitness is sex-specifically influenced by maternal reproductive
condition, sex allocation theory predicts that poor-quality mothers should invest in the …

Human diseases in adulthood are increasingly associated with growth patterns in early life,
implicating early‐life nutrition as the underlying mechanism. The thrifty phenotype …

Existing insight suggests that maternal effects have a substantial impact on evolution, yet
these predictions assume that maternal effects themselves are evolutionarily constant …

In recent years, a number of researchers have advocated extending the modern synthesis in
evolutionary biology. One of the core arguments made in favour of an extension comes from …

The question of why maternal stress influences offspring phenotype is of significant interest
to evolutionary physiologists. Although embryonic exposure to maternally derived …

Life-history theory predicts that individuals should adjust their reproductive effort according
to the expected fitness returns on investment. Because sexually selected male traits should …

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the physiology, ecology, and behavior of
hormones in avian eggs. The main source of hormones found in avian eggs is the maturing …