The application of molecular genetic techniques has revolutionized our view of avian mating
systems. Contrary to prior expectations, birds are only very rarely sexually monogamous …

Two very basic ideas in sexual selection are heavily influenced by numbers of potential
mates: the evolution of anisogamy, leading to sex role differentiation, and the frequency …

After the chicken, the House Sparrow is the most widely distributed bird species in the world,
occurring on all continents except Antarctica and on most human-inhabited islands …

Molecular techniques have revealed striking variation among bird species in the rates of
extra–pair paternity (EPP) and intraspecific brood parasitism (IBP). In terms of the proportion …

Estimates of genetic components are important for our understanding of how individual
characteristics are transferred between generations. We show that the level of heritability …

The mechanisms that contribute to variation in lifetime reproductive success are not well
understood. One possibility is that telomeres, conserved DNA sequences at chromosome …

Reproductive behaviors of vertebrates are often underpinned by temporal patterns of
hormone secretion. We investigated interspecific patterns of circulating testosterone in male …

Complex social life has been characterized as cognitively challenging and recently, social
relationships such as long-term social bonds and alliances have been identified as key …

Secondary sexual characters may have evolved in part to signal resistance to parasites.
Avian song has been hypothesized to be involved in this process, but the role of parasites in …

Habitat fragmentation can restrict geneflow, reduce neighbourhood effective population size,
and increase genetic drift and inbreeding in small, isolated habitat remnants. The extent to …