Body Size, Nest Initiation Date, and Egg Production in Ruddy Ducks

The Auk ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 116 (1) ◽  
pp. 228-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Davison Ankney
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Ruddy Ducks ◽  
Nest Initiation

scholarly journals Nutrient Reserves and Clutch-Size Regulation of Northern Shovelers in Alaska

The Auk ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 971-979 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret C. MacCluskie ◽  
James S. Sedinger
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Prairie Pothole Region ◽  
Prairie Pothole ◽  
High Productivity ◽  
Brood Rearing ◽  
Nutrient Reserve ◽  
Anas Clypeata ◽  
Nutrient Reserves ◽  
Nest Initiation

Abstract We determined patterns of nutrient-reserve use by female Northern Shovelers (Anas clypeata) nesting at Minto Flats, Alaska, and compared them with those of female shovelers nesting in the Prairie Pothole Region of Manitoba, Canada. Individual variation in somatic lipid was best explained by nest initiation date; females that initiated nests early had larger lipid reserves than females that delayed nest initiation. These results contrast with those from Manitoba, which showed that females used lipid reserves and stored protein during egg production. Incubating females from Alaska did not use protein or mineral reserves, but lipid reserves decreased significantly throughout incubation. Females in Alaska and Manitoba used lipid reserves similarly during incubation. We conclude that endogenous nutrient availability does not proximately limit clutch size during laying for this population of shovelers, possibly due to the high productivity of wetlands in interior Alaska and/or the long photoperiod that allow females to forage extensively. Successful completion of incubation or brood rearing may be an ultimate factor that controls clutch size for this population of shovelers.

scholarly journals Body size and the timing of egg production in parasitoid wasps: a comparative analysis

2003 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Jervis ◽  
P. N. Ferns ◽  
G. E. Heimpel
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Parasitoid Wasps

Reproductive performance in a phyletic dwarf, the spider crab Petramithrax pygmaeus (Bell, 1836) (Decapoda: Brachyura: Mithracidae)

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-329
Author(s):  
Joshua T Fields ◽  
Hayden K Mullen ◽  
Clayr M Kroenke ◽  
Kyla A Salomon ◽  
Abby J Craft ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Reproductive Performance ◽  
Related Species ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Marine Invertebrates ◽  
Small Body ◽  
Reproductive Investment ◽  
Spider Crab ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Body Sizes

Abstract The spider crab Petramithrax pygmaeus (Bell, 1836), a phyletic dwarf, was used to test predictions regarding reproductive performance in small marine invertebrates. Considering the disproportional increase in brooding costs and the allometry of egg production with increasing body size, it was expected that this minute-size species would produce large broods compared to closely related species that attain much larger body sizes. Fecundity in P. pygmaeus females carrying early and late eggs varied, respectively, between 17 and 172 eggs crab–1 (mean ± SD = 87.97 ± 48.39) and between 13 and 159 eggs crab–1 (55.04 ± 40.29). Females did not experience brood loss during egg development. Egg volume in females carrying early and late eggs varied, respectively, between 0.13 and 0.40 mm3 (0.22 ± 0.07) and between 0.15 and 0.42 mm3 (0.26 ± 0.06 mm3). Reproductive output (RO) varied between 0.91 and 8.73% (3.81 ± 2.17%) of female dry body weight. The RO of P. pygmaeus was lower than that reported for closely related species with larger body sizes. The slope (b = 0.95 ± 0.15) of the line describing the relationship between brood and parental female dry weight was not statistically significant from unity. Overall, our results disagree with the notion that the allometry of gamete production and increased physiological costs with increased brood size explain the association between brooding and small body size in marine invertebrates. Comparative studies on the reproductive investment of brooding species belonging to monophyletic clades with extensive differences in body size are warranted to further our understanding about disparity in egg production in brooding marine invertebrates.

Distribution, Growth, and Seasonal Abundance of Hyalella azteca (Amphipoda) in Relation to Sediment Microflora

1970 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 685-699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry T. Hargrave
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Hyalella Azteca ◽  
Maximum Density ◽  
Seasonal Abundance ◽  
Juvenile Survival ◽  
Substrate Choice ◽  
Deposit Feeding ◽  
The Vertical Distribution

Growth, density, and body size of the deposit-feeding amphipod Hyalella azteca, and its food, epibenthic algae, and sediment microflora, were greatest in shallow-water areas of Marion Lake. The vertical distribution of Hyalella was limited to the upper 2 cm of sediment cores. Highest concentrations of sedimentary chlorophyll and lowest concentrations of nondigestible ligninlike material also occurred at the sediment surface.In laboratory substrate-choice experiments, Hyalella differentiated between sediments with different concentrations of microorganisms, and growth depended upon the quantity of microflora in the diet. In Marion Lake, increased growth of Hyalella during June was independent of temperature and closely correlated with increased rates of epibenthic primary production.Egg production, related to body size in a nonlinear manner, began during May as growth rates increased. As a combined result of egg production and juvenile survival, the maximum density of Hyalella in Marion Lake was reached in August.

Intraspecific variation in reproductive effort by female Parapediasia teterrella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) and its relation to body size

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry D. Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Life History Evolution ◽  
Reproductive Parameters ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Egg Number ◽  
Lepidoptera Pyralidae

Daily egg production of the moth Parapediasia teterrella declined over the life-span of the female but egg size remained constant. The absence of water resulted in lower fecundity and early mortality. Egg size and lifetime fecundity showed considerable inter-individual variation and large females produced more and larger eggs than their smaller counterparts. Large females expended greater reproductive effort than small females. Hatching success was negatively related to egg size. In spite of this, large females laying large eggs had higher fitness than small females. I postulate that multiple reproductive strategies within a species, resulting from differences in reproductive effort expended, may explain why expected trade-offs in reproductive parameters (e.g., egg size versus egg number) were not found in this species. Furthermore, I argue that the prevalent interpretation of life-history evolution (that body size is the important determining parameter of life-history parameters) may reflect correlation of body size with reproductive effort, and reproductive effort may be more important in determining the nature of trade-offs between reproductive parameters.

Variation in laying date, clutch size, egg size, and egg composition of yellow-headed blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus): a supplemental feeding experiment

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (10) ◽  
pp. 1904-1911 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd W. Arnold
Keyword(s):  
Food Availability ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Energy Content ◽  
Laying Date ◽  
Food Supplementation ◽  
Supplemental Feeding ◽  
Xanthocephalus Xanthocephalus ◽  
Egg Composition ◽  
Nest Initiation

I studied the effects of food availability, habitat quality, and timing of breeding on egg production in yellow-headed blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus). Food availability was experimentally manipulated by providing females on six wetlands with supplemental food; six additional wetlands served as unsupplemented controls. Mean nest initiation dates varied by up to 6 d among wetlands, and supplementally fed blackbirds initiated nests 2 d earlier than controls, on average (although this latter difference was not quite significant; P = 0.07). Clutch size declined with laying date, but was unaffected by wetland location, food supplementation, or interactions between these two factors and laying date. Although egg size did not vary among wetlands or in relation to supplemental feeding, egg composition varied with both of these factors. All egg components except wet and dry shell and dry albumen varied among wetlands, whereas total water, wet yolk, and lean yolk were the only components that varied with food supplementation. Large blackbird eggs contained proportionately more water and albumen, but proportionately less yolk and shell. These patterns were somewhat compensatory, such that proportional protein and energy content did not vary with egg size; however, large eggs contained proportionately less fat than did small eggs. Proportional egg composition varied among wetlands (yolk and energy content), but was not affected by supplemental feeding. In general, egg production by yellow-headed blackbirds was not greatly affected by food availability. This may have been due to any of the following four factors: (1) inaccessibility of food supplements owing to competition between male and female blackbirds, (2) insufficient time for females to respond to food supplements, owing to rapid settlement and nest initiation, (3) a nutritionally inappropriate food supplement (i.e., protein availability may not have been enhanced among fed birds), or (4) superabundance of natural foods such that food availability was not limiting egg production.

Reproductive patterns of European pond turtles differ between sites: a small scale scenario

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 339-349
Author(s):  
Marco A.L. Zuffi ◽  
Elena Foschi
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Shell Height ◽  
The Body ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Population Structures ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
Reproductive Females ◽  
Similar Body

From 1996 to 2002, we studied the body size, measures of reproductive strategy (relative clutch mass and delayed reproduction at sexual maturity), and reproductive output (clutch frequency and annual egg production) of female European Pond turtles,Emys orbicularis, at two sites separated by 12 km in central Mediterranean Tuscany (San Rossore and Camp Darby, central northern Italy). Females did not reproduce at the first appearance of external sexual characters, but reproduced at larger sizes, probably as older turtles. Among years, reproductive females were more common than were non-reproductive females, yet both groups had similar body sizes. Body size (carapace length and width, plastron length and width, shell height and body mass) varied between localities and among years. Body size differed between reproductive and non reproductive females in Camp Darby, but not in San Rossore females. Shell volume did not vary among years, nor between localities, nor between reproductive status. Reproductive females had higher body condition indices (BCI) than did non-reproductive females, while BCI did not differ between females laying one clutch and females laying multiple clutches. Clutch size did not vary among years. One clutch per year was much more frequent than multiple clutches, and multiple clutches were more frequent in Camp Darby than in San Rossore females, likely due to differences in population structures between sites.

ANNUAL, INTRA-, AND INTER-SPECIFIC VARIATIONS IN BODY SIZE AND POTENTIAL FECUNDITY OF SOME TABANUS SPECIES (DIPTERA: TABANIDAE)

1986 ◽  
Vol 118 (12) ◽  
pp. 1265-1272
Author(s):  
D.J. Leprince ◽  
P. Jolicoeur
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Reproductive Strategies ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Wing Length ◽  
Potential Fecundity ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
The Third ◽  
Ovariole Number

AbstractBecause egg production in Tabanus atratus, T. catenatus, T. lineola, T. quinquevittatus, and T. similis is not known in southwestern Quebec, potential fecundity and body size were evaluated respectively from the analysis of ovariole number and wing length in field-collected females. Ovariole number appears to be proportional to the third power of wing length, and fecundity indices can be derived from that relationship. Significant differences in body size and potential fecundity of the species suggest that there are different reproductive strategies within the genus Tabanus. Body size and potential fecundity varied significantly in both sampling years in T. lineola but not in T. quinquevittatus or T. similis. These results may prove useful in future studies of population dynamics or phylogeny.

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