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Sexual dimorphism and offspring growth: smaller female Blue Tit nestlings develop relatively larger gapes

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

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Sexual dimorphism and offspring growth: smaller female Blue Tit nestlings develop relatively larger gapes. / Mainwaring, Mark C.; Dickens, Megan; Hartley, Ian R.
In: Journal of Ornithology, Vol. 153, No. 4, 10.2012, p. 1011-1016.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Mainwaring, MC, Dickens, M & Hartley, IR 2012, 'Sexual dimorphism and offspring growth: smaller female Blue Tit nestlings develop relatively larger gapes', Journal of Ornithology, vol. 153, no. 4, pp. 1011-1016. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-012-0828-0

APA

Mainwaring, M. C., Dickens, M., & Hartley, I. R. (2012). Sexual dimorphism and offspring growth: smaller female Blue Tit nestlings develop relatively larger gapes. Journal of Ornithology, 153(4), 1011-1016. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-012-0828-0

Vancouver

Mainwaring MC, Dickens M, Hartley IR. Sexual dimorphism and offspring growth: smaller female Blue Tit nestlings develop relatively larger gapes. Journal of Ornithology. 2012 Oct;153(4):1011-1016. doi: 10.1007/s10336-012-0828-0

Author

Mainwaring, Mark C. ; Dickens, Megan ; Hartley, Ian R. / Sexual dimorphism and offspring growth: smaller female Blue Tit nestlings develop relatively larger gapes. In: Journal of Ornithology. 2012 ; Vol. 153, No. 4. pp. 1011-1016.

Bibtex

@article{b70a1ff18bcf4f568c76ce334bf71a44,
title = "Sexual dimorphism and offspring growth: smaller female Blue Tit nestlings develop relatively larger gapes",
abstract = "Sexual size dimorphism results in asymmetric sibling competition, and nestlings of the smaller sex are expected to prioritise the development of those morphological characters that maximise effective sibling competition. In this study, we test the prediction that female Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus nestlings, which are smaller than males, preferentially develop relative gape area in a trade-off against growth of mass and head-bill length. We found that whilst male nestlings were heavier, female and male nestlings had similar head-bill lengths, but females had relatively larger gape areas. Therefore, female nestlings were investing relatively more resources in gape area than males because of their overall smaller body size, presumably because gapes are an integral part of the process used by nestlings to solicit food from their parents.",
keywords = "BIRDS, Sexual dimorphism, CUCKOO, CONFLICT, Resource allocation, MOUTH COLORATION, Sibling competition, Blue Tit, PARUS, COMPETITION",
author = "Mainwaring, {Mark C.} and Megan Dickens and Hartley, {Ian R.}",
year = "2012",
month = oct,
doi = "10.1007/s10336-012-0828-0",
language = "English",
volume = "153",
pages = "1011--1016",
journal = "Journal of Ornithology",
issn = "0021-8375",
publisher = "Springer Verlag",
number = "4",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Sexual dimorphism and offspring growth: smaller female Blue Tit nestlings develop relatively larger gapes

AU - Mainwaring, Mark C.

AU - Dickens, Megan

AU - Hartley, Ian R.

PY - 2012/10

Y1 - 2012/10

N2 - Sexual size dimorphism results in asymmetric sibling competition, and nestlings of the smaller sex are expected to prioritise the development of those morphological characters that maximise effective sibling competition. In this study, we test the prediction that female Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus nestlings, which are smaller than males, preferentially develop relative gape area in a trade-off against growth of mass and head-bill length. We found that whilst male nestlings were heavier, female and male nestlings had similar head-bill lengths, but females had relatively larger gape areas. Therefore, female nestlings were investing relatively more resources in gape area than males because of their overall smaller body size, presumably because gapes are an integral part of the process used by nestlings to solicit food from their parents.

AB - Sexual size dimorphism results in asymmetric sibling competition, and nestlings of the smaller sex are expected to prioritise the development of those morphological characters that maximise effective sibling competition. In this study, we test the prediction that female Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus nestlings, which are smaller than males, preferentially develop relative gape area in a trade-off against growth of mass and head-bill length. We found that whilst male nestlings were heavier, female and male nestlings had similar head-bill lengths, but females had relatively larger gape areas. Therefore, female nestlings were investing relatively more resources in gape area than males because of their overall smaller body size, presumably because gapes are an integral part of the process used by nestlings to solicit food from their parents.

KW - BIRDS

KW - Sexual dimorphism

KW - CUCKOO

KW - CONFLICT

KW - Resource allocation

KW - MOUTH COLORATION

KW - Sibling competition

KW - Blue Tit

KW - PARUS

KW - COMPETITION

U2 - 10.1007/s10336-012-0828-0

DO - 10.1007/s10336-012-0828-0

M3 - Journal article

VL - 153

SP - 1011

EP - 1016

JO - Journal of Ornithology

JF - Journal of Ornithology

SN - 0021-8375

IS - 4

ER -