Proceedings of the First International Megapode Symposium, Christchurch, New Zealand, December 1990

Contents Contents................................................................................................................................................................3 Introduction..........................................................................................................................................................3 Current studies on megapode phylogeny (Brom, T.G. & R.W.R.J. Dekker) ..............................................7 Megapode phylogeny and the interpretation of incubation strategies (Dekker, R.W.R.J. & T.G. Brom)...19 An evolutionary approach to megapode mating systems (D.N. Jones)....................................................33 Mate choice in Australian brush-turkeys Alectura lathami: A preliminary report ( S. Birks)..................43 The Micronesian megapode Megapodius laperouse: Conservation and research needs (Stinson, D.W. & P.O. Glass)...................................................................................................................................................53 Bibliography of the Megapodiidae (Dekker, R.W.R.J. & D.N. Jones).........................................................57 Introduction The publication of the Proceedings of the First International Megapode Symposium, held in December 1990 as part of the 20th International Ornithological Congress (IOC) in New Zealand, represents a milestone in the scientific study of this unique family of birds. Not only are these papers evidence of the breadth of interest in the group, but their publication in this form is indicative of the level of organization that currently exists among what is admittedly a relatively small number of workers. Although the megapodes have fascinated naturalists and scientists for centuries, this interest has become truly international and multidisciplinary mainly during the last decade. For the most part, however, the workers involved in these studies laboured largely independently and with little contact. The initiative of bringing together the people engaged or interested in the megapodes clearly belongs to the late Prof Dr Klaus Immelmann, Professor of Ethology at the University of Bielefeld in Germany. It was during the 19th IOC in Ottawa, June 1986, that Klaus, despite his duties as President of the IOC, became aware of a num-