Proximate and evolutionary sources of variation in offspring energy expenditure in songbirds

Aim: Understanding variation in offspring energy expenditure is important because energy is critical for growth and development. Weather may exert proximate effects on offspring energy expenditure, but in altricial species these might be masked by parental care and huddling with siblings. Such effects are particularly important to understand given changing global weather patterns, yet studies of wild offspring in the presence of parental care are lacking. Offspring energy expenditure may also vary among species due to evolved responses to environmental selection pressures, requiring studies at both proximate and ultimate levels.
Location: USA, South Africa, Malaysia.
Time period: 2016-2019.
Major taxa studied: Songbirds.
Methods: We used the doubly-labeled water technique to estimate nestling daily energy expenditure of 54 songbird species across three continents. We used Bayesian phylogenetic mixed models to test proximate and evolutionary causes of variation in offspring energy expend...