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.

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.

Intraclutch egg-size variation in the Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis: an egg-removal experiment

Ibis ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 138 (3) ◽  
pp. 499-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. D. WILLIAMS ◽  
C. JEFFS ◽  
K. A. MURRAY ◽  
S. CHOUDHURY
Keyword(s):  
Egg Size ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Removal Experiment ◽  
Barnacle Goose ◽  
Branta Leucopsis ◽  
Egg Removal

Factors affecting egg viability and incubation time in prairie dabbling ducks

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 1146-1152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd W. Arnold
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Incubation Time ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Hatching Success ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Weak Support ◽  
Anas Clypeata

I determined hatching success for 328 dabbling duck (Anas spp.) eggs that were experimentally subjected to varying lengths of preincubation delay and then artificially incubated. Hatchability declined as unincubated eggs were exposed to longer preincubation delays. This effect was more pronounced at higher ambient temperatures and later in the nesting season, but did not vary with egg size or among duck species. These results are largely consistent with observed patterns of clutch-size variation among prairie-nesting waterfowl. Clutch size may be smaller later in the year and at lower latitudes owing to the negative effects of date and temperature on the ability of eggs to withstand preincubation delay. The timing of embryo mortality was bimodal, with peaks occurring during early development (<6 d) and just before hatching (>22 d); however, only early mortality was affected by preincubation delay. Eggs lost up to 2.6% of their initial mass as water vapor during preincubation delay, but the amount of water loss did not affect hatching success. Eggs subjected to preincubation delay required about 1 additional day to hatch. Incubation time was related to egg size in northern shovelers (Anas clypeata) and in all species combined, but not in blue-winged teal (Anas discors) or mallards (Anasplatyrhynchos). These data provide only weak support for the hypothesis that large eggs are costly because they take longer to hatch.

From the High Arctic to the Baltic: The Successful Establishment of a Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis Population on Gotland, Sweden

1988 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kjell Larsson ◽  
Par Forslund ◽  
Lars Gustafsson ◽  
Barwolt S. Ebbinge
Keyword(s):  
High Arctic ◽  
Barnacle Goose ◽  
Successful Establishment ◽  
Branta Leucopsis ◽  
The Baltic

Genetic and Social Inheritance of Body and Egg Size in the Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis)

Evolution ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kjell Larsson ◽  
Par Forslund
Keyword(s):  
Egg Size ◽  
Barnacle Goose ◽  
Branta Leucopsis

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.

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.

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