The Ostrich Communal Nesting System

Brian C.R. Bertram

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English

Princeton University Press
23 September 2014

Animal reproduction; Birds (ornithology)

Series: Princeton Legacy Library

As the study of cooperative breeding systems expands, a number of key species form the examples that underpin our general understanding. The ostrich is increasingly becoming such a textbook species, on the basis of the results obtained in Brian Bertram's study of vigilance and egg discrimination in this extraordinary bird. Here Bertram presents new data on the ostrich communal nesting system, in which several females lay in one female's nest, with only one female and the male doing all the work. The Ostrich Communal Nesting System unravels the basis of the cooperation observed, and explains how a system involving apparent altruism is maintained by natural selection. It is now possible as never before to explain and quantify the effects of the different choices these birds make and to integrate ecological and morphological factors such as predation and size. Based on three seasons of study in Tsavo West National Park in Kenya, this book depended on recognizing individual birds, detecting and monitoring well-concealed nests, determining motherhood of eggs from their surface appearance, and time-lapse photography of nests.

Key findings were that females could switch rapidly between reproductive strategies, that a nesting female could recognize her own eggs and when necessary discriminate against those of other females, and that the whiteness of ostrich eggs is an adaptation that protects them against overheating but at the cost of greater vulnerability to predation. Originally published in 1992. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

By: Brian C.R. Bertram
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Volume: 150
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 11mm
Weight: 28g
ISBN: 9780691600161
ISBN 10: 0691600163
Series: Princeton Legacy Library
Pages: 206
Publication Date: 23 September 2014
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Preface1The Ostrich12Methods193The Population334The Breeding System495Ecological Aspects716Strategies Adopted by Major Females1027Major and Minor Female Strategies1248Male Strategies1389Discussion: The Evolution and Maintenance of the Communal Nesting System159References188Subject Index193