scholarly journals Effects of Incubation Conditions and Offspring Sex on Embryonic Development and Survival in the Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia Guttata)

The Auk ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 122 (4) ◽  
pp. 1239-1248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen E. Gorman ◽  
Kate J. Orr ◽  
Aileen Adam ◽  
Ruedi G. Nager
Keyword(s):  
Embryonic Development ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Egg Quality ◽  
Good Condition ◽  
Taeniopygia Guttata ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Embryo Mortality ◽  
Offspring Fitness ◽  
Offspring Sex

AbstractSuboptimal conditions during embryonic development can affect offspring fitness. Both egg quality and incubation behavior can affect hatching success, hatching mass, and subsequent offspring performance. These effects may differ between male and female offspring. We manipulated the prebreeding body condition of Zebra Finches (Taeniopygia guttata), using diets of different protein content. To separate possible effects on egg quality of parental body condition and incubation conditions, we did a cross-fostering experiment. We analyzed embryo survival and hatching mass with respect to body condition of the egg-laying parent, body condition of the incubating foster parent, and offspring sex. Embryos were not affected by the condition of the egg-laying parent. Eggs incubated by parents in better condition suffered less embryo mortality than those incubated by parents in poorer condition, but only when overall embryo mortality was low. Hatching mass was also affected by the incubating foster parent’s body condition. And hatchlings incubated by parents in good condition were heavier than those incubated by parents in poor condition. Female hatchlings from late-laid eggs were heavier, in comparison with the size of the egg from which they hatched, than female hatchlings from earlier-laid eggs. No such effect was found for males. Therefore, male and female embryos may differ in their sensitivity to suboptimal conditions during embryonic development. These results suggest that parental body condition during incubation can affect offspring fitness.Efectos de las Condiciones de Incubación y el Sexo de las Crías sobre el Desarrollo Embrional y la Supervivencia en Taeniopygia guttata

scholarly journals Dietary carotenoid supplementation facilitates egg laying in a wild passerine

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge García-Campa ◽  
Wendt Müller ◽  
Sonia González-Braojos ◽  
Emilio García-Juárez ◽  
Judith Morales
Keyword(s):  
Embryonic Development ◽  
Clutch Size ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Egg Quality ◽  
Antioxidant Properties ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Egg Mass ◽  
Blue Tit ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Dietary Carotenoid

During egg laying, female birds face a trade-off between self-maintenance and investment into current reproduction. Providing eggs with resources is energetically demanding, since in most species females lay one egg per day. However, the costs of egg laying not only relate to energetic requirements, but also depend on the availability of specific resources that are vital for egg production and embryonic development. One of these compounds are carotenoids, pigments with antioxidant properties and immuno-stimulatory functions, which are crucial during embryonic development. In this study, we explore how carotenoid availability alleviates this trade-off and facilitates egg laying in the blue tit. Blue tit females lay one egg per day and have the largest clutch size of all European passerines. We performed a lutein supplementation experiment, and measured potential consequences for egg laying capacity and egg quality. We found that lutein-supplemented females had less laying interruptions and thus completed their clutch faster than control females. No effects of treatment were found on the onset of egg laying or clutch size. Experimentally enhanced carotenoid availability did not elevate yolk carotenoid levels or egg mass, but negatively affected eggshell thickness. Our results provide hence evidence on the limiting role of carotenoids during egg laying, However, the benefits of laying faster following lutein supplementation were counterbalanced by a lower accumulation of calcium in the eggshell. Thus, even though single components may constrain egg laying, it is the combined availability of a range of different resources which ultimately determines egg quality and thus embryonic development.

The interaction of nutrition and body condition at mating on ovulation rate and early embryo mortality in Scottish Blackface ewes

1975 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
pp. 465-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. G. Gunn ◽  
J. M. Doney
Keyword(s):  
Food Intake ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Good Condition ◽  
Early Embryo ◽  
Ovulation Rate ◽  
Service Rate ◽  
Corpora Lutea ◽  
Embryo Mortality ◽  
Poor Condition ◽  
High Level

SUMMARYOne hundred and fifty-six Scottish Blackface ewes were differentially group-fed over a 2-month period to achieve three distinct levels of body condition (good, moderate and very poor). Over 5 weeks prior to mating, one group of good-condition ewes was maintained in that condition, one group of good- and one of moderate-condition ewes were brought down in condition by restricted feeding and one group of moderate and the very poor condition ewes were raised in condition by a high level of feeding. Ewes were therefore in good, moderately good or poor condition at mating. After mating, ewes were killed either on return to service or at 25 ± 5 days for counts of corpora lutea and viable embryos.Poor body condition, irrespective of feeding level, was associated with a delay or suppression of oestrus and with a high return-to-service rate. Ovulation rate was positively related to body condition at mating but not to the level of pre-mating food intake at the condition levels studied.Embryo mortality decreased as body condition at mating increased and the interaction between condition and the level of pre-mating food intake had a differential effect on mortality of single- and multiple-shed ova. The lowest rate of embryo mortality was found in ewes in moderately good condition which had been well-fed before mating.

scholarly journals Body Size and Condition, Timing of Breeding, and Aspects of Egg Production in Eastern Kingbirds

The Auk ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 103 (3) ◽  
pp. 465-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael T. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Egg Quality ◽  
Flight Muscle ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Timing Of Breeding ◽  
Muscle Weight ◽  
Egg Weight

Abstract Variation in timing of breeding in Eastern Kingbirds (Tyrannus tyrannus) was correlated only weakly with external morphological characters, but was correlated positively and significantly with estimates of body size based on measurements of skeletons and muscle weights. Small females apparently held a reproductive advantage in being able to mobilize resources for reproduction before large females. Egg weight was independent of all measures of female size, but was directly and significantly (P = 0.03) correlated with standard flight muscle weight, a relative index of body condition. Egg size was thus a function more of female body condition than size. On average, shell, yolk, and albumen comprised 5.6%, 21.9%, and 72.5%, respectively, of fresh egg weight. Dry albumen and dry shell increased proportionately with fresh egg weight, but dry yolk did not. Total protein, lipid, and energy of fresh eggs all increased proportionately with weight. Comparison of egg composition and standard flight muscle weight of laying females indicated moderate positive, although nonsignificant, correlations between body condition and measures of egg quality, especially lipid content. Based on post-egg-laying body composition and nutrient requirements for the production of one egg, it appeared that most females probably could have laid an additional egg almost solely from body reserves. Clutch size thus appears to be independent of body condition.

Fertility in Cheviot ewes. 3. The effect of level of nutrition before and after mating on ovulation rate and early embryo mortality in South Country Cheviot ewes in moderate condition at mating

1979 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. G. Gunn ◽  
J. M. Doney ◽  
W. F. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Food Intake ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Good Condition ◽  
Early Embryo ◽  
Ovulation Rate ◽  
Corpora Lutea ◽  
Embryo Mortality ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Moderate Condition ◽  
High Level

ABSTRACTOne hundred and twenty South Country Cheviot hill ewes were differentially group-fed indoors over a 2-month period to achieve either moderately-good or poor body condition. Over 5 weeks prior to mating, ewes in moderately-good condition were brought down in condition by restricted feeding and ewes in poor body condition were raised in condition by a high level of feeding. The ewes were thus in moderate condition at mating. During the first 4 weeks after mating, half the ewes from each original condition group were fed at a high level and the other half were fed at a low level. Ewes were killed either on return to service or at 30 ± 10 days forcounts of corpora lutea and viable embryos.Ovulation rate was not significantly related to the level of pre-mating food intake at the condition level studied, although the trend was positive. Embryo mortality, as ova loss, was reduced by a high level of post-mating food intake but was increased by a high level of pre-mating intake. This latter result, however, may be influenced by the experimental confounding of high pre-mating food intake and very low initial body condition. The greatest loss was incurred by ewes, originally in poor condition, which were fed at a high pre-mating level and a low post-mating level. Potential lambing rate at slaughter was not affected by the level of food intake either before or after mating although the trend was for a low level of post-mating intake to be associated with an increase in the proportion of barren ewes.

scholarly journals Effects of Hematozoan Parasites on Condition and Return Rates of American Kestrels

The Auk ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 117 (2) ◽  
pp. 373-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell D. Dawson ◽  
Gary R. Bortolotti
Keyword(s):  
Immune Function ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Good Condition ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Blood Parasites ◽  
Chronic Infections ◽  
Return Rates ◽  
American Kestrels ◽  
Dispersal Probability ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract We evaluated the relationship between blood parasites and body condition of American Kestrels (Falco sparverius) during the breeding season. Females that were infected with at least one species of parasite were in poorer condition than those without parasites during incubation but not prior to egg laying. We suggest that the relationship between parasitism and condition was masked before laying because of large increases in body mass of females during egg formation. Reduced condition of males during incubation also was associated with higher intensity of infections by Haemoproteus in one of two years. The negative association between condition and intensity of infection suggests that blood parasites impose costs on kestrels owing to competition for nutrients or allocation of energy by hosts to immune function or tissue repair. Alternatively, kestrels in poor condition may be more likely to have relapses of chronic infections, or they may be less able to control new infections because of resource limitations. In contrast to results during incubation, during the prelaying period the prevalence of parasites tended to be higher, and in one year infections were more intense, among males in good condition. One possible explanation for these results is that body condition of males during courtship is an important determinant of the quality of mate they are able to obtain, and males may be accumulating body reserves at the expense of decreased immune function. Return rates of female kestrels to the study area declined as the intensity of their Haemoproteus infections increased, suggesting that blood parasitism is associated with reduced survival or increased dispersal probability.

scholarly journals Internal embryonic development in a non-copulatory, egg-laying teleost, the three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura L. Dean ◽  
Shaun Robertson ◽  
Muayad Mahmud ◽  
Andrew D. C. MacColl
Keyword(s):  
Embryonic Development ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Egg Laying

scholarly journals Mitigation Effects of Bentonite and Yeast Cell Wall Binders on AFB1, DON, and OTA Induced Changes in Laying Hen Performance, Egg Quality, and Health

Toxins ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 156
Author(s):  
Ling Zhao ◽  
Yue Feng ◽  
Jing-Tao Wei ◽  
Meng-Xiang Zhu ◽  
Lei Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Laying Hens ◽  
Egg Quality ◽  
Dietary Supplementation ◽  
Basal Diet ◽  
Liver Weight ◽  
Laying Hen ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Villus Height ◽  
Crypt Depth ◽  
Induced Changes

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of mycotoxin binders in reducing the adverse effects of co-occurring dietary aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), deoxynivalenol (DON) and ochratoxin A (OTA) on laying hens. Three hundred and sixty 26-week-old Roman laying hens were randomly allocated into four experimental groups with 10 replicates of nine birds each. The four groups received either a basal diet (BD; Control), a BD supplemented with 0.15 mg/kg AFB1 + 1.5 mg/kg DON + 0.12 mg/kg OTA (Toxins), a BD + Toxins with Toxo-HP binder (Toxins + HP), or a BD + Toxins with TOXO XL binder (Toxins + XL) for 12 weeks. Compared to the control, dietary supplementation of mycotoxins decreased (P < 0.10) total feed intake, total egg weight, and egg-laying rate, but increased feed/egg ratio by 2.5–6.1% and mortality during various experimental periods. These alterations induced by mycotoxins were alleviated by supplementation with both TOXO HP and XL binders (P < 0.10). Furthermore, dietary mycotoxins reduced (P < 0.05) eggshell strength by 12.3% and caused an accumulation of 249 μg/kg of DON in eggs at week 12, while dietary supplementation with TOXO HP or XL mitigated DON-induced changes on eggshell strength and prevented accumulation of DON in eggs (P < 0.05). Moreover, dietary mycotoxins increased relative liver weight, but decreased spleen and proventriculus relative weights by 11.6–22.4% (P < 0.05). Mycotoxin exposure also increased alanine aminotransferase activity and reduced immunoglobulin (Ig) A, IgM, and IgG concentrations in serum by 9.2–26.1% (P < 0.05). Additionally, mycotoxin exposure induced histopathological damage and reduced villus height, villus height/crypt depth, and crypt depth in duodenum, jejunum and (or) ileum (P < 0.05). Notably, most of these histological changes were mitigated by supplementation with both TOXO HP and XL (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that the mycotoxin binders TOXO HP and XL can help to mitigate the combined effects of AFB1, DON, and OTA on laying hen performance, egg quality, and health.

scholarly journals Influence of the energy and digestible lysine contents of the diet on performance and egg quality traits of brown-egg laying hens from 19 to 59 weeks of age

2021 ◽  
pp. 101211
Author(s):  
R. Scappaticcio ◽  
J. Garcia ◽  
G. Fondevila ◽  
A.F. de Juan ◽  
L. Cámara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Laying Hens ◽  
Egg Quality ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Quality Traits
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