Female zebra finches compromise clutch temperature in energetically demanding incubation conditions

Nord, Andreas; Sandell, Maria I.; Nilsson, Jan‐Åke

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2435.2010.01719.x

Cited by 65 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 56 publications

(129 reference statements)

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“…Thus, when natural seasonal variation is controlled, birds breeding during periods of cold weather fail at higher rates. This could be due to increased energetic costs associated with colder temperatures (Haftorn, 1978;Ardia et al, 2009;Nord et al, 2010), which leads to reduced egg viability and decreased parental effort (de Heij et al, 2006(de Heij et al, , 2007. However, colder temperatures may also lead to reduced food supplies compounding potential energetic costs, even if parents may increase reproductive effort as costs increase (Ardia and Clotfelter, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

The Effects of Nestbox Thermal Environment on Fledging Success and Haematocrit in Tree Swallows

Ardia

2013

Avian Biology Research

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Nest microclimate, particularly temperature, can affect energy balance of both parents and offspring. Here I investigate patterns of correlation between internal temperatures of artificial nestboxes and fitness in Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). Nests with cold overnight temperatures were less likely to fledge offspring. Conversely, nests with high daytime temperatures were also less likely to fledge offspring. In particular, nest success declined when internal nestbox temperatures exceeded 35°C. To investigate a potential physiological cause for reduced fitness, I tested whether haematocrit, a rough indicator of blood volume, was related to warmer nest temperatures. Whilst variable, nests with higher temperatures had higher average haematocrit of nestlings on day 13. This may indicate greater evaporative heat loss reflected in lower plasma volumes. These results as a whole indicate that temperatures outside the thermo-neutral zone may influence energy balance of both parents and offspring and may have an important effect on fitness.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

The Effects of Nestbox Thermal Environment on Fledging Success and Haematocrit in Tree Swallows

Ardia

2013

Avian Biology Research

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“…Thus, the observed variation indicates that not all parents incubate eggs at the optimal temperature for embryonic development. This is particularly true when environmental condition deteriorates; an artificial drop in the ambient temperature resulted in increased metabolic rate of the incubating zebra finches and a decline in incubation temperature (Nord et al, 2010). In such environmental conditions, parents face a trade-off between energetic needs of the parents and of the developing embryos, and can result in incubation temperatures that are not optimal for embryonic development.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transient and permanent effects of suboptimal incubation temperatures on growth, metabolic rate, immune function, and adrenocortical responses in zebra finches

Wada

Kriengwatana

Allen

et al. 2015

Journal of Experimental Biology

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In birds, incubation temperature can vary by several degrees Celsius among nests of a given species. Parents may alter incubation temperature to cope with environmental conditions and/or to manipulate embryonic development, and such changes in incubation behavior could have long-lasting effects on offspring phenotype. To investigate short-and long-term effects of suboptimal incubation temperatures on survival and physiological functions in zebra finches, eggs were incubated at 36.2, 37.4 or 38.4°C for the entire incubation period. The post-hatch environment was identical among the treatment groups. We found that hatching success was lowest in the 38.4°C group, while post-hatch survival was lowest in the 36.2°C group. Incubation temperature had sex-specific effects on offspring phenotype: incubation temperatures affected body mass (M b ) but not physiological parameters of males and conversely, the physiological parameters but not M b of females. Specifically, males from the 38.4°C group weighed significantly less than males from the 36.2°C group from the nestling period to adulthood, whereas females from different incubation temperature groups did not differ in M b . In contrast, females incubated at 36.2°C had transient but significantly elevated basal metabolic rate and adrenocortical responses during the nestling and fledgling periods, whereas no treatment effect was observed in males. Innate immunity was not affected by incubation temperature in either sex. These results suggest that a 1°C deviation from what is considered an optimal incubation temperature can lower offspring performance and offspring survival.

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“…Indeed, studies that have manipulated the temperatures of nests and eggs suggest that the need for self-maintenance may play a major role in regulating female behaviour during incubation [16]–[20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food Supplementation Fails to Reveal a Trade-Off between Incubation and Self-Maintenance in Female House Wrens

et al. 2014

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Incubating birds must allocate their time and energy between maintaining egg temperature and obtaining enough food to meet their own metabolic demands. We tested the hypothesis that female house wrens (Troglodytes aedon) face a trade-off between incubation and self-maintenance by providing females with supplemental food during incubation. We predicted that food supplementation would increase the amount of time females devoted to incubating their eggs, lower their baseline plasma corticosterone levels (a measure of chronic stress), and increase their body mass, haematocrit (a measure of anaemia), and reproductive success relative to control females. As predicted, food-supplemented females spent a greater proportion of time incubating their eggs than control females. Contrary to expectation, however, there was no evidence that food supplementation significantly influenced female baseline plasma corticosterone levels, body mass, haematocrit, or reproductive success. However, females with high levels of corticosterone at the beginning of incubation were more likely to abandon their nesting attempt after capture than females with low levels. Corticosterone significantly increased between the early incubation and early nestling stages of the breeding cycle in all females. These results suggest that although food supplementation results in a modest increase in incubation effort, it does not lead to significantly lower levels of chronic stress as reflected in lower baseline corticosterone levels. We conclude that female house wrens that begin the incubation period with low levels of plasma corticosterone can easily meet their own nutritional needs while incubating their eggs, and that any trade-off between incubation and self-feeding does not influence female reproductive success under the conditions at the time of our study.

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Female zebra finches compromise clutch temperature in energetically demanding incubation conditions

Cited by 65 publications

References 56 publications

The Effects of Nestbox Thermal Environment on Fledging Success and Haematocrit in Tree Swallows

The Effects of Nestbox Thermal Environment on Fledging Success and Haematocrit in Tree Swallows

Transient and permanent effects of suboptimal incubation temperatures on growth, metabolic rate, immune function, and adrenocortical responses in zebra finches

Food Supplementation Fails to Reveal a Trade-Off between Incubation and Self-Maintenance in Female House Wrens

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