The influence of laying sequence and ambient temperature on egg size variation in the SwallowHirundo rustica

1995 ◽  
Vol 136 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerzy Bańbura ◽  
Piotr Zieliński
Keyword(s):  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Laying Sequence

Intraclutch egg-size variation and hatching success in the common eider

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 544-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory J. Robertson ◽  
Fred Cooke
Keyword(s):  
Egg Size ◽  
Hatching Success ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Hudson Bay ◽  
Somateria Mollissima ◽  
Physiological Mechanisms ◽  
Common Eiders ◽  
Laying Sequence ◽  
The Common ◽  
Nutrient Reserves

Intraclutch egg-size variation and hatching success were studied in a population of Hudson Bay common eiders (Somateria mollissima sedentaria) at La Pérouse Bay, Manitoba (58°24′N, 94°24′W), to test the hypothesis that females allocate more nutrient reserves to eggs that are more likely to hatch. Egg volumes were calculated for 575 known-sequence eggs in 134 complete clutches of 3–6 eggs. In general, the length of eggs decreased linearly with position in the laying sequence, whereas the breadth of eggs followed a curvilinear pattern, the second or third egg being the widest. For all clutch sizes, the last-laid egg was the smallest and the second- or third-laid egg the largest. Hatching success also varied with position in the laying sequence. Pre-incubation failure declined over the laying sequence, whereas hatching failure (dead, infertile, or rotten eggs) increased. In all cases pre-incubation failure was the major cause of egg loss (84% of total loss). Overall, third and fourth eggs were the most successful and first eggs were the least successful. With one exception, successful and unsuccessful eggs were the same size within a laying sequence. We conclude that there is no clear relationship between egg size and hatching success, and that laying sequence per se has a greater effect on hatching success. Female eiders do not appear to allocate more reserves to eggs that are most likely to hatch, and we consider other proximate, physiological mechanisms to explain the observed pattern of intraclutch egg-size variation.

scholarly journals Estimating Repeatability of Egg Size

The Auk ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 500-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul L. Flint ◽  
Robert F. Rockwell ◽  
James S. Sedinger
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Nested Model ◽  
Sequence Number ◽  
Nested Design ◽  
Black Brant ◽  
Laying Sequence ◽  
Analytical Approaches

Abstract Measures of repeatability have long been used to assess patterns of variation in egg size within and among females. We compared different analytical approaches for estimating repeatability of egg size of Black Brant. Separate estimates of repeatability for eggs of each clutch size and laying sequence number varied from 0.49 to 0.64. We suggest that using the averaging egg size within clutches results in underestimation of variation within females and thereby overestimates repeatability. We recommend a nested design that partitions egg-size variation within clutches, among clutches within females, and among females. We demonstrate little variation in estimates of repeatability resulting from a nested model controlling for egg laying sequence and a nested model in which we assumed laying sequence was unknown.

Adaptive aspects of intraclutch egg-size variation in the High Arctic barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis)

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (7) ◽  
pp. 1180-1188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christiaane E Hübner ◽  
Ingunn M Tombre ◽  
Kjell E Erikstad
Keyword(s):  
Egg Size ◽  
Hatching Success ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Hatching Asynchrony ◽  
Nutrient Allocation ◽  
Egg Predation ◽  
Barnacle Goose ◽  
Laying Sequence ◽  
Branta Leucopsis

The pattern of intraclutch egg-size variation in barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis) clutches and its adaptive implications was studied in Svalbard, Norway, from 1989 to 1998. Egg size was measured in relation to laying sequence, egg predation and hatching order were recorded to determine hatching success of eggs in different laying sequences, and the time when incubation started was examined. Egg size showed a rather consistent pattern, with a large second-laid egg and declining egg size for the remainder of the clutch. The first-laid egg was usually smaller than the second one, except in clutches with two and three eggs. Predation was highest for the first-laid egg, and last-laid eggs hatched last in most cases, although only one last-laid egg was abandoned. Four of six females started incubation before clutch completion. Both the "nutrient-allocation hypothesis" as well as the "early incubation start hypothesis" may contribute to explaining the expressed pattern of intraclutch egg-size variation. The fitness gains due to allocating fewer nutrients to eggs in unfavourable positions in the laying sequence may explain the small size of the first egg, whereas the multiple benefits of an early incubation start may have led to the decline in egg size later in the laying sequence as a mechanism to counteract hatching asynchrony.

scholarly journals Condition dependent strategies of egg size variation in the Common Eider Somateria mollissima

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Kjær Christensen ◽  
Thorsten Johannes Skovbjerg Balsby
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Common Eider ◽  
Somateria Mollissima ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Laying Sequence ◽  
The Common ◽  
Using Data

AbstractWe analysed intraclutch egg-size variation in relation to clutch size and to female body condition in the Common Eider Somateria mollissima during an 8-year period. The aim was to assess if eiders adaptively adjusted egg size within the laying sequence in response to different clutch sizes, which potentially could optimise reproductive success through a size advantage in hatchlings. The analyses were performed on both population and individual level using data from recaptured females that changed clutch size between seasons. Based on 1,099 clutches from 812 individual females, population clutch size averaged 4.13 eggs (range: 1-6), with marked annual variation in the dominance of 4- and 5-egg clutches, which constituted c.70% of all clutches. Clutch size was positively related to female pre-laying body condition at both the population and individual level. Egg size varied significantly within and between clutch sizes and changes were significantly related to the laying sequence. First eggs were significantly larger in 4-egg clutches and second eggs smaller (marginally insignificant) than in 5-egg clutches, a pattern also found among individual females changing clutch size between seasons. The relationship between female pre-laying body condition, clutch size and the intraclutch egg-size pattern indicates that both clutch size and egg size is actively adapted to the pre-breeding body condition of the female. We suggest that the observed pattern of intraclutch egg-size variation reflects a finely tuned conditional dependent mechanisms that enable females in a suboptimal condition to optimize reproductive output.

scholarly journals Effects of Environmental Conditions and Parental Quality on Inter- and Intraclutch Egg-Size Variation in the Collared Flycatcher (Ficedula Albicollis)

The Auk ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 122 (2) ◽  
pp. 509-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita Hargitai ◽  
János Török ◽  
László Tóth ◽  
Gergely Hegyi ◽  
Balázs Rosivall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Egg Size ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Laying Date ◽  
Life History Trait ◽  
Ficedula Albicollis ◽  
Collared Flycatcher ◽  
Egg Formation ◽  
Adaptive Explanation ◽  
Breeding Condition

AbstractEgg size is a particularly important life-history trait mediating maternal influences on offspring phenotype. Females can vary their egg-size investment in relation to environmental circumstances, their own breeding condition, and the quality of their mate. Here we analyzed inter- and intraclutch variation in egg size in the Collared Flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis) on the basis of eight years of data. According to our results, mean egg size increased with female condition, but did not differ among young, middle-aged, and old females. The male’s age, body size, and forehead patch size did not influence egg size; thus, we found no evidence for differential investment in egg size in relation to male quality. We found no effect of laying date on egg size when controlling for ambient temperature during the egg formation period, yet temperature had a significant effect on egg size. That result indicates proximate constraints on egg formation. Furthermore, we report on annual differences in intraclutch egg-size variation. Egg size increased within clutches in years with a warm prelaying period; whereas in years when the weather during that period was cold, there was no significant intraclutch trend. Proximate considerations seem to explain the observed patterns of intraclutch egg-size variation; however, we cannot reject the adaptive explanation. Mean egg size and intraclutch egg-size variation were unrelated to clutch size. Therefore, we found no evidence for a trade-off between size and number of eggs within a clutch.

Annual variation in common eider egg size: effects of temperature, clutch size, laying date, and laying sequence

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (9) ◽  
pp. 1579-1587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory J. Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Annual Variation ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Laying Date ◽  
Somateria Mollissima ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Common Eiders ◽  
N 93

Annual variation in volumes of eggs laid by common eiders (Somateria mollissima sedentaria) nesting at La Pérouse Bay, Manitoba (58°43′N, 93°27′W), was studied over 3 years (1991–1993). Temperatures during the egg-laying period were higher in 1991 than in 1992 and 1993. However, the eiders began nesting in 1993 at the same time as in 1991, whereas in 1992 the eiders began laying approximately 2 weeks later. Eiders laid significantly smaller clutches in 1992 than in the other 2 years. Egg size did not correlate with clutch size or laying date in any year. However, eiders laid smaller eggs in 1992 and 1993 than in 1991. In five egg clutches, the pattern of intraclutch egg-size variation was different among years. The last laid eggs of five egg clutches were disproportionately smaller in 1992 and 1993 (cold years) than those laid in 1991. Minimum daily temperatures before the egg-laying period (during rapid yolk development) were positively correlated with egg size. However, this effect was not significant when year and egg sequence were controlled for. Egg-size variation was correlated with the overall ambient temperatures during the laying period, whereas annual clutch-size variation was correlated with laying date, suggesting that the proximate mechanisms affecting clutch and egg size are different.

Egg size and clutch size in three species of Nihonotrypaea (Decapoda: Thalassinidea: Callianassidae) from western Kyushu, Japan

2006 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Kubo ◽  
K. Shimoda ◽  
A. Tamaki
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Relative Size ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Middle Part ◽  
Reproductive Period ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Estuarine System ◽  
Ariake Sound ◽  
Interspecific Comparisons

Three species of the callianassid genus Nihonotrypaea occur in the Ariake Sound estuarine system, southern Japan; they consist of two tidal-flat species (N. harmandi; N. japonica) and one boulder-beach species (N. petalura), with maximum population densities of 1440, 343, and 12 ind m−2, respectively. Nihonotrypaea harmandi and N. petalura are distributed along the coastline from the outermost part of the sound to the open sea, while N. japonica occurs in the middle part of the sound. Nihonotrypaea japonica has an extended reproductive period from late winter to autumn, while those of the other species are from late spring or summer to autumn. Interspecific comparisons were made for recently laid egg size (as volume) and clutch size (as number of eggs per female). Only in N. japonica was a seasonal egg size variation observed, being significantly larger in winter to spring (mean=0.106 mm3) than in summer (0.080 mm3). By contrast, clutch size was significantly smaller in winter to spring, resulting in nearly the same clutch volume per female (product of the mean egg volume and clutch size) between the seasons. Among the three species, the egg size was ordered as N. japonica (overall mean volume through the seasons=0.092 mm3)>>N. petalura (0.057 mm3)>N. harmandi (0.054 mm3). The clutch size was ordered as N. harmandi>N. petalura≈N. japonica. The clutch volume was ordered as N. japonica≈N. harmandi>N. petalura. The smallest clutch volume value for N. petalura female showed an opposite trend to the relative size of the major cheliped found in a previous study.

Egg-size variation in Yellow Warblers: apportionment of parental investment and the brood-survival hypothesis

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (5) ◽  
pp. 1008-1011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Percy N. Hébert ◽  
Spencer G. Sealy
Keyword(s):  
Egg Size ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Relative Mass ◽  
Egg Mass ◽  
Passerine Birds ◽  
Dendroica Petechia ◽  
Brood Survival ◽  
Yellow Warblers ◽  
Clutch Initiation

It has been hypothesized that in passerine birds the larger size of last-laid eggs is part of a brood-survival strategy. We examined the usefulness of the brood-survival hypothesis in explaining intraclutch variation in egg mass of Yellow Warblers (Dendroica petechia). In 4- and 5-egg clutches, egg mass increased significantly with laying order. Although last-hatched nestlings in broods of 4 had higher survival rates than their counterparts in broods of 5, there were no differences in the absolute or relative mass of last-laid eggs in clutches of 4 and 5 eggs. In addition, the mass of last-laid eggs that hatched but did not produce a fledgling was not significantly different from that of last-laid eggs that did produce a fledgling. Finally, the relative mass of last-laid eggs was also not correlated with hatch spread or with date of clutch initiation. The results of this study do not support the brood-survival hypothesis.

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