Coloniality in the Cliff Swallow The Effect of Group Size on Social Behaviour

About this book

Many animal species live and breed in colonies. Although biologists have documented numerous costs and benefits of group living, they still often disagree on why coloniality evolved in the first place. During a twelve-year study of a population of cliff swallows in Nebraska, the Browns investigated 26 social and ecological costs and benefits of coloniality, how they are reflected in reproductive success and survivorship, and speculate on the evolution of the cliff swallow coloniality.

Contents

Preface 1: Introduction 2: Field Methods and Data Analysis 3: Study Site and Study Population 4: Ectoparasitism 5: Competition for Nest Sites 6: Misdirected Parental Care: Extrapair Copulation, Brood Paratisism, and Mixing of Offspring 7: Shortage of Suitable Nesting Sites 8: Avoidance of Predators 9: Social Foraging 1: Natural History, Food Distribution, and Mechanisms of Information Transfer 10: Social Foraging 2: Effects of Colony Size 11: Reproductive Success 12: Survivorship 13: Colony Choice 14: The Evolution of Coloniality Appendix References Index

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