All birds construct nests in which to lay eggs and/or raise offspring. Traditionally, it was
thought that natural selection and the requirement to minimize the risk of predation …

The microbiome is a vital component to the evolution of a host and much of what we know
about the microbiome derives from studies on humans and captive animals. But captivity …

Predators often cause prey to adopt defensive strategies that reduce predation risk. The
'ecology of fear'examines these trait changes and their consequences. Similarly, parasites …

Birds have many kinds of internal and external parasites, including viruses, bacteria and
fungi, as well as protozoa, helminths and arthropods. Because parasites have negative …

Incubating new ideas about avian reproduction/SJ Reynolds & DC Deeming--The fossil
record and evolution of avian egg nesting and incubation/DC Deeming--Nest construction …

Bird nests represent an extended phenotype of individuals expressed during reproduction
and so exhibit variability in composition, structure and function. Descriptions of nests based …

Avian nests are crucial to reproduction as they are the site for incubation of the clutch of
eggs and, in many cases, it is the location for the rearing of chicks hatched. Despite many …

In this study, we compared the antibacterial effectivity of the eggs of six precocial and four
altricial bird species using Escherichia coli, based on their eggshell traits. The ultrastructure …

The use of anthropogenic debris as nest-building materials may affect nest function. We
study ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) on an island with scarce vegetation and high availability …

Selective pressures imposed by pathogenic microorganisms to embryos have selected in
hosts for a battery of antimicrobial lines of defenses that includes physical and chemical …