Experimental (Antiestrogen‐Mediated) Reduction in Egg Size Negatively Affects Offspring Growth and Survival

2007 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily C. Wagner ◽  
Tony D. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Egg Size ◽  
Growth And Survival ◽  
Offspring Growth ◽  
Mediated Reduction

The effect of egg size and habitat on starling nestling growth and survival

Oecologia ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 115 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 59-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrik G. Smith ◽  
M�ns Bruun
Keyword(s):  
Egg Size ◽  
Growth And Survival ◽  
Nestling Growth

Cohort variation in offspring growth and survival: prenatal and postnatal factors in a late-maturing viviparous snake

2010 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 640-649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Pierre Baron ◽  
Jean-François Le Galliard ◽  
Thomas Tully ◽  
Régis Ferrière
Keyword(s):  
Growth And Survival ◽  
Offspring Growth ◽  
Postnatal Factors

Effects of parental quality and egg size on growth and survival of herring gull chicks

2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 967-973 ◽  
Author(s):  
T S Risch ◽  
F C Rohwer
Keyword(s):  
Egg Size ◽  
Character Displacement ◽  
Egg Mass ◽  
Chick Survival ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Growth And Survival ◽  
Parental Quality ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Structural Growth ◽  
Experimental Treatments

We performed a clutch-transfer experiment with herring gulls (Larus argentatus) to quantify how parental attributes and egg size affect chick growth and survival. The quality of parents was assessed by their average egg mass. There was no association between hatching success and egg mass in either unmanipulated or experimental nests. Among experimental treatments, the high-quality parents had a significantly higher chick survival rate than low-quality parents in 1991 and when data from 1990 and 1991 were pooled. A positive effect of egg size on chick survival was apparent only when data from both years were pooled. Chicks raised by high-quality parents had higher structural growth rates (tarsus) than chicks raised by low-quality parents. We discount the likelihood for selection of larger eggs because egg size has trade-offs with other life-history traits that have a strong influence on fitness. Despite the correlation between parental quality and chick survival, we doubt that there is character displacement for greater parental quality. Parental quality is probably affected by nutrition and is expected to have low heritability.

Effect of body size, age and timing of breeding on clutch and egg size of female Eastern Gray Treefrogs, Hyla versicolor

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Gerlinde Höbel ◽  
Robb Kolodziej ◽  
Dustin Nelson ◽  
Christopher White
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Reproductive Investment ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Hyla Versicolor ◽  
Growth And Survival ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Gray Treefrogs

Abstract Information on how organisms allocate resources to reproduction is critical for understanding population dynamics. We collected clutch size (fecundity) and egg size data of female Eastern Gray Treefrogs, Hyla versicolor, and examined whether observed patterns of resource allocation are best explained by expectations arising from life history theory or by expected survival and growth benefits of breeding earlier. Female Hyla versicolor showed high between-individual variation in clutch and egg size. We did not observe maternal allocation trade-offs (size vs number; growth vs reproduction) predicted from life history theory, which we attribute to the large between-female variation in resource availability, and the low survival and post-maturity growth rate observed in the study population. Rather, clutches are larger at the beginning of the breeding season, and this variation in reproductive investment aligns with seasonal variation in ecological factors affecting offspring growth and survival.

scholarly journals The evolutionary puzzle of egg size, oxygenation and parental care in aquatic environments

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1813) ◽  
pp. 20150690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ines Braga Goncalves ◽  
Ingrid Ahnesjö ◽  
Charlotta Kvarnemo
Keyword(s):  
Egg Size ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Aquatic Environments ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Embryo Survival ◽  
Growth And Survival ◽  
Embryo Size ◽  
Syngnathus Typhle ◽  
Hypoxic Conditions ◽  
Size Evolution

Offspring fitness generally improves with increasing egg size. Yet, eggs of most aquatic organisms are small. A common but largely untested assumption is that larger embryos require more oxygen than they can acquire through diffusion via the egg surface, constraining egg size evolution. However, we found no detrimental effects of large egg size on embryo growth and survival under hypoxic conditions. We tested this in the broad-nosed pipefish, Syngnathus typhle , whose males provide extensive care (nourishment, osmoregulation and oxygenation) to their young in a brood pouch on their bodies. We took advantage of this species' pronounced variation in egg size, correlating positively with female size, and tested the effect of hypoxia (40% dissolved oxygen) versus fully oxygenated (100%) water on embryo size and survival of large versus small eggs after 18 days of paternal brooding. Egg size did not affect embryo survival, regardless of O 2 treatment. While hypoxia affected embryo size negatively, both large and small eggs showed similar reductions in growth. Males in hypoxia ventilated more and males with large eggs swam more, but neither treatment affected their position in the water column. Overall, our results call into question the most common explanation for constrained egg size evolution in aquatic environments.

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