Function
Several researchers have reported differences in the relative gland weights attributing them to factors like seasonal changes, habitat, body weight, inter-individual variations, and gender. Significant differences are found in the relative gland size between males and females in most species, however, no coherent explanation has as yet been found for these results. Many ornithologists believe the function of the uropygial gland differs among various species of birds.
Read more about this topic: Uropygial Gland
Famous quotes containing the word function:
“Think of the tools in a tool-box: there is a hammer, pliers, a saw, a screwdriver, a rule, a glue-pot, nails and screws.—The function of words are as diverse as the functions of these objects.”
—Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951)
“If the children and youth of a nation are afforded opportunity to develop their capacities to the fullest, if they are given the knowledge to understand the world and the wisdom to change it, then the prospects for the future are bright. In contrast, a society which neglects its children, however well it may function in other respects, risks eventual disorganization and demise.”
—Urie Bronfenbrenner (b. 1917)
“It is not the function of our Government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the Government from falling into error.”
—Robert H. [Houghwout] Jackson (1892–1954)