Nests, Eggs, and Incubation New ideas about avian reproduction

D. Charles Deeming, Senior Lecturer, School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, UK,S. James Reynolds, Lecturer in Ornithology and Animal Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, UK

Charles started working on aspects of bird incubation in the early 1980s and has had a varied career since. Postgraduate research examined the physiological basis of egg turning during incubation and postdoctoral research described the effects of incubation temperature on growth and sex determination in alligators. Aside from scientific publications Charles has edited key review texts on avian and reptilian development and incubation, and ostrich biology. Since 2003 Charles has been teaching biology at the University of Lincoln, where he has added how bird nests function to his list of research interests.

Jim has worked on the reproductive biology of a variety of bird species over the last 25 years including common kingfishers in the UK, spruce grouse in boreal forests of Canada, Florida scrub-jays in the oak scrublands of the southern USA and most recently sooty terns on Ascension Island in the South Atlantic. His research focuses on how human-induced changes in food availability, habitat structure, predation risk and ecological community structure influence the breeding behaviour, ecology, life history and ultimately the breeding performance of birds. Such research will become increasingly pertinent as we attempt to understand how bird populations respond to an ever-urbanising world.

Foreword, Tim Birkhead
Preface
1. Incubating new ideas about avian reproduction, S.J. Reynolds & D.C. Deeming
2. The fossil record and evolution of avian egg nesting and incubation, D.C. Deeming
3. Nest-construction behaviour, S.D. Healy, K.V. Morgan & I.E. Bailey
4. Functional properties of nests, D.C. Deeming & M.C. Mainwaring
5. The influence of predation on the location and design of nests, M.C. Mainwaring, S.J. Reynolds & K. Weidinger
6. Nest construction and incubation in a changing climate, M.C. Mainwaring
7. Microbiology of nests and eggs, A. West, P. Cassey & C.M. Thomas
8. Control of invertebrate occupants of nests, I. Lopez-Rull & C. Macias Garcia
9. Egg allometry: influences of phylogeny and the altricial-precocial continuum, G.F. Birchard & D.C. Deeming
10. Egg quality, embryonic development and post-hatching phenotype: an integrated perspective, T.D. Williams & T.G.G. Groothuis
11. Egg signaling: the use of visual, auditory and chemical stimuli, K. Brulez, T.W. Pike & S.J. Reynolds
12. Improvements in our understanding of behaviour during incubation, V. Marasco & K.A. Spencer
13. The energetic costs of incubation, A. Nord & J.B. Williams
14. Influence of incubation temperature on offspring phenotype and fitness in birds, G.R. Hepp, S.E. DuRant & W.A. Hopkins
15. Advances in techniques to study incubation, J.A. Smith, C.B. Cooper & S.J. Reynolds
16. Applications of incubation science to aviculture and conservation, D.C. Deeming & N.S. Jarrett
17. The role of citizen science in studies of avian reproduction, C.B. Cooper, R.L. Bailey & D.I. Leech
18. Perspectives on avian nests and eggs, D.C. Deeming & S.J. Reynolds