TY - JOUR
T1 - Life-history patterns and sociality in canids
T2 - Body size, reproduction, and behavior
AU - Bekoff, Mare
AU - Diamond, Judy
AU - Mitton, Jeffry B.
PY - 1981/9
Y1 - 1981/9
N2 - Empirical associations among co-adapted traits such as body size and patterns of reproduction, development, and behavior are unknown for most animal species, despite numerous theories suggesting otherwise. One way to study these complex relationships is first to consider closely related species and then to generalize findings to other groups. In the present study, relationships among body size, reproductive patterns, development, and sociality were examined in 17 members of the family Canidae (canids). Large canids are more social than smaller species, and offspring of large species achieve independence and tend to breed first at a later age. Large females give birth to absolutely larger young, but relative to their own body weight they allocate fewer resources to bringing a large pup to term. Overall, sexual dimorphism in size is small to moderate, and this is associated with monogamous mating habits and paternal care of young.
AB - Empirical associations among co-adapted traits such as body size and patterns of reproduction, development, and behavior are unknown for most animal species, despite numerous theories suggesting otherwise. One way to study these complex relationships is first to consider closely related species and then to generalize findings to other groups. In the present study, relationships among body size, reproductive patterns, development, and sociality were examined in 17 members of the family Canidae (canids). Large canids are more social than smaller species, and offspring of large species achieve independence and tend to breed first at a later age. Large females give birth to absolutely larger young, but relative to their own body weight they allocate fewer resources to bringing a large pup to term. Overall, sexual dimorphism in size is small to moderate, and this is associated with monogamous mating habits and paternal care of young.
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U2 - 10.1007/BF00344981
DO - 10.1007/BF00344981
M3 - Article
C2 - 28309059
AN - SCOPUS:0001232380
VL - 50
SP - 386
EP - 390
JO - Oecologia
JF - Oecologia
SN - 0029-8519
IS - 3
ER -