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Leaf-size divergence along rainfall and soil-nutrient gradients: Is the method of size reduction common among clades?

TLDR
There was no evidence that pubescence, lobing or other traits assessed served as alternatives to reduction of leaf size at the low ends of either environmental gradient, although broad similarities between rainfall and soil P gradients were apparent.
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Nestling begging increases predation risk, regardless of spectral characteristics or avian mobbing

TLDR
It was found that predators were just as likely to locate nests with broadband white noise playback as nests broadcasting begging signals, and there was an interaction between playback amplitude and predator type (avian vs rodent): Louder playback led to decreased nest survival for those taken by avian predators.
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Evaluation of unmanned aerial vehicle shape, flight path and camera type for waterfowl surveys: disturbance effects and species recognition

TLDR
With proper planning of take-off and landing sites, flight paths and careful UAV model selection, UAVs can provide an excellent tool for accurately surveying wild waterfowl populations and provide archival data with fewer logistical issues than traditional methods such as manned aerial surveys.
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Bell miner provisioning calls are more similar among relatives and are used by helpers at the nest to bias their effort towards kin

TLDR
This work investigated the mechanism by which adaptive discrimination occurs by assessing genetic kinship influences on the structure of more than 1900 provisioning vocalizations of 185 miners, providing the first example of a mechanism for fine-scale kin discrimination in a complex avian society.
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The Influence of Testosterone on Territorial Defence and Parental Behavior in Male Free-Living Rufous Whistlers, Pachycephala rufiventris

TLDR
The results from both experiments suggest that intersexual advertisement, rather than territorial aggression, may be dependent on high T levels in this species.
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Helping effort increases with relatedness in bell miners, but ‘unrelated’ helpers of both sexes still provide substantial care

TLDR
Examination of nest visit rates, load sizes and prey types delivered by breeding pairs and their helpers in the cooperatively breeding bell miner finds extremely clear evidence for the expected effect of genetic relatedness on individual helping effort per nest within colonies.
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To pluck or not to pluck: the hidden ethical and scientific costs of relying on feathers as a primary source of DNA

TLDR
It is argued that the practise of feather plucking or clipping should be strongly discouraged on both scientific and ethical grounds in the avian literature, and blood collection has been experimentally demonstrated to be relatively safe.
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Failure of 5α-Dihydrotestosterone to initiate Sexual Behaviour in the Castrated Male Rat

TLDR
The failure of 5-DHT to initiate sexual behaviour in the castrated male rat is concerned, which suggests that the aromatization of androgens may be of significance in the activation of sexual behaviour.
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Comparison of the effect of neonatal administration of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone in the female rat.

TLDR
Both TP and DHTP were equally potent in preventing ovarian compensatory hypertrophy in unilaterally ovariectomized female rats and the significance of these observations are discussed with respect to the physiological r=o^\le of DHT.
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Inhibition of androgen-sterilization in the female rat by administration of an antioestrogen.

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