Relationships among egg size, energy reserves, growth rate, and fasting resistance of Canada Goose goslings from southern Ontario

Thomas, Vernon G.; Brown, Helen Cosis

doi:10.1139/z88-142

Cited by 21 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…In the altricial hooded crow, weight of the yolk sac at hatching was positively related to egg volume and chicks hatching from larger eggs tended to have proportionately larger yolk sac masses . Similarly, in semialtricial alcids (Birkhead & Nettleship, 1984) and in the precocial Canada goose (Thomas & Peach Brown, 1988), weight of the yolk sac retained at hatch increases with increasing egg size (see also Parsons, 1970). It is important to note however, that there have so far been no studies of species where siblicide is common (e.g.…”

Section: Egg Size and Offspring Mass And Size A T Hatchingmentioning

confidence: 97%

Intraspecific Variation in Egg Size and Egg Composition in Birds: Effects on Offspring Fitness

1994

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1. There is little unequivocal evidence to date in support of a positive relationship between egg size and offspring fitness in birds. Although 40 studies (of 34 species) have considered the effect of variation in egg size on chick growth and/or survival up to fledgling only 12 studies have controlled for other characters potentially correlated both with egg size and offspring fitness. Of these only two have reported a significant residual effect of egg size on chick growth (in the roseate tern and European blackbird) and three a residual effect on chick survival (all in seabirds: common tern, lesser black-backed gull and kittiwake). 2. More consistent evidence exists, though from fewer studies, for a positive relationship between egg size and offspring fitness early in the chick-rearing period; chick growth and chick survival being dependent on egg size in 8 of 10 studies and 4 of 5 studies respectively. It is suggested that the most important effect of variation in egg size might be in determining the probability of offspring survival in the first few days after hatching. 3. Egg size explains on average 66% of the variation in chick mass at hatching (n = 35 studies) but only 30% of the variation in chick body size (n = 18). When effects of hatching body size are controlled for chick mass remains significantly correlated with egg size, though the reverse is not true. This supports the hypothesis that large eggs give rise to heavier chicks at hatching, i.e., chicks with more nutrient (yolk) reserves, rather than structurally larger chicks. 4. Egg composition increased isometrically with increasing egg size in about half the studies so far reported (n equals approximately 20). However, in seabirds, and some passerines, larger eggs contain disproportionately more albumen, whilst in some waterfowl percentage yolk content increases with increasing egg size. Changes in albumen content largely reflect variation in the water content of eggs, but changes in yolk content involve variation in lipid content, and therefore in egg 'quality.' The adaptive significance of variation in egg composition is considered; females may adjust egg composition facultatively to maximise the benefits to their offspring of increased reproductive investment. 5. Considerations for future research are discussed with particular emphasis on experimental studies and the application of new techniques.

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Section: Egg Size and Offspring Mass And Size A T Hatchingmentioning

confidence: 97%

Intraspecific Variation in Egg Size and Egg Composition in Birds: Effects on Offspring Fitness

1994

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“…parental investment in care), which serves as a post-hatching source of nutrients and energy that can affect survivorship, especially during times of nutritional stress. A number of studies of precocial species (Kear, 1965;Ankney, 1980;Peach and Thomas, 1986;Thomas et al, 1988;Slattery and Alisauskas, 1995;Visser and Ricklefs, 1995;Dawson and Clark, 1996;Nager et al, 2000;Anderson and Alisauskas, 2001) have shown that an increase in residual yolk, correlated with increased egg size, results in increased hatchling survival under limited food conditions.…”

Section: Table·1 Hatchling Organ Masses (G) and Their Regressions Onmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal effects of egg size on emuDromaius novaehollandiaeegg composition and hatchling phenotype

Dzialowski

Sotherland

2004

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Parental investment in eggs and, consequently, in offspring can profoundly influence the phenotype, survival and ultimately evolutionary fitness of an organism. Avian eggs are excellent model systems to examine maternal allocation of energy translated through egg size variation. We used the natural range in emu Dromaius novaehollandiae egg size, from 400·g to >700·g, to examine the influence of maternal investment in eggs on the morphology and physiology of hatchlings. Female emus provisioned larger eggs with a greater absolute amount of energy, nutrients and water in the yolk and albumen. Variation in maternal investment was reflected in differences in hatchling size, which increased isometrically with egg size. Egg size also influenced the physiology of developing emu embryos, such that late-term embryonic metabolic rate was positively correlated with egg size and embryos developing in larger eggs consumed more yolk during development. Large eggs produced hatchlings that were both heavier (yolk-free wet and dry mass) and structurally larger (tibiotarsus and culmen lengths) than hatchlings emerging from smaller eggs. As with many other precocial birds, larger hatchlings also contained more water, which was reflected in a greater blood volume. However, blood osmolality, hemoglobin content and hematocrit did not vary with hatchling mass. Emu maternal investment in offspring, measured by egg size and composition, is significantly correlated with the morphology and physiology of hatchlings and, in turn, may influence the success of these organisms during the first days of the juvenile stage.

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“…A relatively large variation in neonate body mass and energy reserves has also been reported for Giant Canada Geese (Branta canadensis maxima) in southern Ontario (Thomas and Peach Brown 1988). Thomas and Peach Brown (1988) suggested that small goslings with low energy reserves might be able to survive at more southerly latitudes because they experience a less stressful climate and have a more readily available food supply than do arctic geese.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…For example, some studies have shown that yolk reserves in some altricial (Rofstad and Sandvik 1987), semiprecocial (Parsons 1970;Birkhead and Nettleship 1984), and precocial (Thomas and Peach Brown 1988) birds increase with egg size. Consistent with the findings of those studies, dry yolk sac mass, as well as residual yolk lipid and yolk protein masses, were positively, but weakly, correlated with egg size in Lesser Snow Geese.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thomas and Peach Brown (1988) suggested that small goslings with low energy reserves might be able to survive at more southerly latitudes because they experience a less stressful climate and have a more readily available food supply than do arctic geese. Interestingly, the coefficient of determination relating hatchling mass of Giant Canada Geese to egg size (mass) was 0.40, which is lower than that for our more northerly breeding interior subspecies (r 2 = 0.64).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Egg size as a predictor of nutrient composition of eggs and neonates of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis interior) and Lesser Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens caerulescens)

Badzinski¹,

Ankney²,

Leafloor³

et al. 2002

Can. J. Zool.

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Fresh and pipped eggs were collected to provide data on nutrient composition of eggs and neonates, respectively, of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis interior) and Lesser Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens caerulescens). We sought to determine how well a commonly used and simple index like estimated egg volume or "egg size" predicted egg composition and neonate characteristics including body composition, structural size, and digestive-organ mass. For both species, egg constituents were positively correlated with egg size, but relations for Canada Geese consistently had higher coefficients of determination than did those for Lesser Snow Geese. These differences suggest that there is more amongfemale variation in nutrient composition of Lesser Snow goose eggs relative to Canada Goose eggs. Most neonatal nutrient constituents were positively correlated with egg size in both species, but the relations between nutrient constituents and egg size were consistently stronger in Lesser Snow Geese than in Canada Geese. Several measures of structural size of neonates were positively correlated with egg size in both species, but egg size was a better predictor of neonate size for Lesser Snow Geese than for Canada Geese. Egg size was a relatively poor predictor of digestive-organ mass for both species. We hypothesize that the stronger relations between neonate quality and egg size in Lesser Snow Geese are a reflection of greater stabilizing selection for embryonic metabolic rates in species that nest at high latitudes and have a short incubation period. The fact that nutrient constituents of eggs were more strongly related to egg size than were the analogous constituents of neonates suggests that variation in metabolic rates of embryos limits the utility of egg size as an accurate and precise predictor of nutrient constituents in the two study species, but especially in Canada Geese.Résumé : La récolte d'oeufs frais et d'oeufs éclos a permis d'étudier la composition en nutriments, respectivement des oeufs et des oisons à la naissance, chez la bernache du Canada (Branta canadensis interior) et l'oie des neiges (Chen caerulescens caerulescens) dans le but de vérifier dans quelle mesure un indice simple et communément utilisé, comme le volume estimé de l'oeuf ou la « taille de l'oeuf », peut servir à prédire la composition de l'oeuf et les caractéristi-ques de l'oison, telles que la composition du corps, la taille structurale et la masse de l'appareil digestif. Les constituants de l'oeuf des deux espèces sont en corrélation positive avec la taille de l'oeuf, mais les coefficients de détermination de la relation sont toujours plus élevés chez la bernache que chez l'oie. Ces différences laissent croire qu'il y a plus de variation d'une femelle à l'autre dans la composition nutritionnelle des oeufs chez l'oie des neiges que chez la bernache du Canada. La plupart des constituants nutritionnels des oisons nouveau-nés sont en corrélation positive avec la taille des oeufs chez les deux espèces, mais la relation est toujours plus forte chez l'o...

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Relationships among egg size, energy reserves, growth rate, and fasting resistance of Canada Goose goslings from southern Ontario

Cited by 21 publications

References 20 publications

Intraspecific Variation in Egg Size and Egg Composition in Birds: Effects on Offspring Fitness

Intraspecific Variation in Egg Size and Egg Composition in Birds: Effects on Offspring Fitness

Maternal effects of egg size on emuDromaius novaehollandiaeegg composition and hatchling phenotype

Egg size as a predictor of nutrient composition of eggs and neonates of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis interior) and Lesser Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens caerulescens)

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