Egg-size variation and reproductive success in the Herring Gull Lams argentatus: adaptive or constrained size of the last egg?

Ibis ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 138 (2) ◽  
pp. 212-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
MIKAEL KILPI ◽  
LARS HILLSTROM ◽  
KAI LINDSTROM
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Herring Gull

scholarly journals The influence of subcolony-scale nesting habitat on the reproductive success of Adélie penguins

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Annie E. Schmidt ◽  
Grant Ballard ◽  
Amélie Lescroël ◽  
Katie M. Dugger ◽  
Dennis Jongsomjit ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Colony Size ◽  
Nest Predation ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Area Ratio ◽  
Slope Aspect ◽  
Nesting Habitat ◽  
Terrain Attributes ◽  
Small Colony ◽  
Adélie Penguins

AbstractGroup-size variation is common in colonially breeding species, including seabirds, whose breeding colonies can vary in size by several orders of magnitude. Seabirds are some of the most threatened marine taxa and understanding the drivers of colony size variation is more important than ever. Reproductive success is an important demographic parameter that can impact colony size, and it varies in association with a number of factors, including nesting habitat quality. Within colonies, seabirds often aggregate into distinct groups or subcolonies that may vary in quality. We used data from two colonies of Adélie penguins 73 km apart on Ross Island, Antarctica, one large and one small to investigate (1) How subcolony habitat characteristics influence reproductive success and (2) How these relationships differ at a small (Cape Royds) and large (Cape Crozier) colony with different terrain characteristics. Subcolonies were characterized using terrain attributes (elevation, slope aspect, slope steepness, wind shelter, flow accumulation), as well group characteristics (area/size, perimeter-to-area ratio, and proximity to nest predators). Reproductive success was higher and less variable at the larger colony while subcolony characteristics explained more of the variance in reproductive success at the small colony. The most important variable influencing subcolony quality at both colonies was perimeter-to-area ratio, likely reflecting the importance of nest predation by south polar skuas along subcolony edges. The small colony contained a higher proportion of edge nests thus higher potential impact from skua nest predation. Stochastic environmental events may facilitate smaller colonies becoming “trapped” by nest predation: a rapid decline in the number of breeding individuals may increase the proportion of edge nests, leading to higher relative nest predation and hindering population recovery. Several terrain covariates were retained in the final models but which variables, the shapes of the relationships, and importance varied between colonies.

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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