Influences of adult age and experience, nest location, clutch size and laying sequence on the breeding success of the Great skua Catharacta skua

In 881 nesting attempts by Great skuas on Foula during 1975 and 1976, 1.24 chicks were fledged per pair. Addled eggs and egg predation were the main causes of losses. Eggs rolled out of the nest were not retrieved. Almost all chicks which hatched also fledged. Young or inexperienced breeders were almost as successful as older or experienced pairs. Birds producing single egg clutches and addled eggs usually also showed low aggression and held small territories. Egg predation was greatest at high nest density, when food availability was low, and when adult aggression score was low. High density nesting seems to have been imposed by the limited size of the island and prolonged population increase.     

Growth and survival of neotropic cormorant (Phalacrocorax brasilianus) chicks in relation to hatching order and brood size

We investigated chick development and feeding rate in the neotropic cormorant, Phalacrocorax brasilianus, in a colony in Central Chile. The year of our study was characterized by relatively good foraging conditions. Brood sizes varied from two to five chicks, and hatching was asynchronous, with gaps of 0 to 6 days between the youngest and the oldest chick. Egg size declined over laying order in three-egg clutches, but not in four-egg clutches. Hatch weight did not vary with hatching position, irrespective of brood size. Chicks increased mass on average by 60 g/day between 8 and 20 days of age. Growth rates and survival to fledging depended on hatching position only in broods of four, where D-chicks grew slower and showed a higher pre-fledging mortality. There was a non-significant tendency that also A-, B-, and C-chicks in broods of four grew slower than in smaller broods. Average number of fledglings was 2.76. Feeding frequency decreased with chick age between the ages of 10–40 days. Four-chick broods received more feeds per day than smaller broods, leading to a similar per-chick feeding frequency across all brood sizes. D-chicks were clearly disadvantaged in growth and survival, and facultative brood reduction occurred.     

The post-fledging survival of young Guillemots Uria aalge in relation to hatching date and growth

The post-fledging survival of a total of 1277 young Guillemots Uria aalge ringed in 6 years was assessed using sightings of 267 individuals back at the natal colony and recoveries of 46 ringed birds. In two years there was a significant decline in survival prospects with estimated hatching date, the first time such a trend has been demonstrated in the Alcidae. In these years pairs breeding early had a 2–3 times greater chance of having a young survive to return to the colony than pairs breeding three weeks later. Hatching date had no effect on survival prospects in the other four seasons and in none of the years did chick body condition have a demonstrable effect on post-fledging survival.     

Factors affecting chick growth in the South Polar Skua (Catharacta maccormicki): food supply, weather and hatching date

This study investigated chick growth in a pelagic Antarctic seabird, the South Polar Skua (Catharacta maccormicki). The factors food supply, weather and hatching date were analysed in a population of 54 breeding pairs at King George Island/South Shetland Islands. Food supply was manipulated by offering fish corresponding to 20% of daily energy demand of chicks to half of the breeding pairs every second day. Growth of mass, head, wing and tarsus was followed and related to the treatment, weather conditions, hatching date and interactive effects. Food supply did not limit chick growth in the studied season. Parents seemed to try to feed their chicks at a maximum rate and succeeded in the studied season because the general food supply was very good. Low temperatures and strong winds depressed chick growth. A growth advantage of food-supplemented chicks could be observed when the natural conditions for chick growth were sub-optimal. Chick growth rate was strongly negatively associated with hatching date and worsening weather during the reproductive season could be excluded as explanatory variable for this finding.     

Effects of variation in egg size and hatching date on survival of Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis ducklings

The consequences of avian egg-size variation on offspring quality and survival remain unclear. We evaluated the effects of egg-size and hatch-date variation on survival of Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis ducklings in the wild. Duckling mass at hatching increased significantly with increasing egg size. Ducklings from larger eggs survived better than those from smaller eggs. We suspect that ducklings from larger eggs survived better because of advantages associated with larger or more efficient utilization of nutrient reserves, or both. We were unable to detect any within-clutch differences in egg size of survivors and non-survivors, nor any consistent direction in the difference in egg size between survivors and nonsurvivors within clutches. This suggests that within-clutch variation may be insufficient to have survival consequences for offspring. In addition, ducklings that hatched later in the breeding season had a higher probability of survival. We suggest a food-dependent hypothesis as an explanation for the seasonally increasing survival and for later nest initiation of Lesser Scaup compared with other North American ducks.     

The influence of age on laying date,clutch size,and egg size of the white-fronted tern,Sterna striata

Abstract

The age at first breeding and the influence of age on laying date, clutch size, and egg size of white-fronted terns were studied at the Kaikoura Peninsula, New Zealand, between 1971 and 1976. Of the 134 banded birds recovered breeding at Kaikoura, 63% were marked as nestlings at Kaikoura; the remainder came from colonies within 104 km. The bird is extremely capricious in its choice of nesting locality, and there are indications that it is not consistently philopatric. A small number bred as 3-year-olds, but the majority did not commence breeding until after they were 6 years old. Most pairs (73%) were of partners with an age difference of 1 year or less. Laying date and egg size varied with the age of the parent, but clutch size showed no significant change in relation to age. Mean egg volume did not vary between one-egg and two-egg clutches, but in two-egg clutches the first egg laid was significantly the larger in length, breadth, and volume. Single-egg clutches were the most common, but as the season progressed the proportion of two-egg clutches increased. There was no significant seasonal change in egg size.     

Parental investment and brood defence by made and female great skuas Catharacts skua: the influence of food supply, laying date, body size and body condition

This paper tests the predictions of parental investment theory and other hypotheses relating to variation in brood defence by examining aggression displayed by great skuas Catharacta skua towards intruders within their territories. Aggression serves the function of nest defence; hatching success of adults breeding in Shetland increased with aggression displayed during incubation, and the correlation between aggression and hatching success was apparent in three separate age classes. Adults displayed higher levels of aggression and greater parental investment in reproduction in years of poor food supply. This was not due to an increase in adults' expectations of future benefits of brood defence with increased investment. since hatching success was unaffected by food supply, and breeding success was lower in years of poor food supply. The observed increase in aggression therefore supports parental investment theory. Aggression increased with body condition index (in terms of mass corrected for body size) for females, but decreased with increasing body condition index for males. This probably reflects size-specific differences in the relative benefits of weight and manoeuvrability as means of promoting effective brood defence and reducing the risk of injury to parents. Aggression may also reflect adult quality, with body condition reflecting quality in opposite ways in males and females, as a result of their different roles during the breeding season.     

Survival of parent and brood adult bark beetles, Ips typographus, in relation to size, lipid content and re-emergence or emergence day

ABSTRACT. This study investigated a possible trade-off between bark beetle reproductive effort and future survival. Parent adult Ips typographus (L.) (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) were collected when they re-emerged from a laboratory culture after completing their first brood and held at constant temperatures of 4 or 25^oC. As a comparison, emerging brood adults were collected and held at 25^oC. The longevity of the beetles was related to when they re-emerged or emerged (measured in days since parent introduction) and to their size (pronotal width), fresh weight and lipid content at collection, by multiple regression analysis. The expression (fresh weight x pronotal width ^-2.6), used as an estimate of lipid content of the living beetles, was significantly correlated (r=0.67, P<0.001) with the actual (extracted) lipid content. At 25^oC, fat content was the variable most strongly correlated with survival time in all beetle groups except parent females. In both parent and brood females, re-emergence or emergence day, respectively, contributed significantly to the explanation of survival time, whereas pronotal width and fresh weight never contributed significantly to the regression equation. At 4^oC, fat content was not estimated but, re-emergence day was negatively correlated with survival time. In conclusion, beetles with high fat content and re-emerging or emerging early have longer expected survival than beetles leaving the log later or containing less fat. This means that females laying a large first brood might suffer a somewhat higher mortality than females laying a smaller brood.     

Stress,immunocompetence and leukocyte profiles of pied flycatchers in relation to brood size manipulation

The two main trade-offs considered determining reproductive patterns in iteroparous organisms are the one between current and future reproduction, and the one between the number and quality of offspring. Recently, it has been suggested that these trade-offs may be mediated by stress-induced reduction in immunocompetence. To test the hypothesis that stress reduces immune function, we investigated the effects of brood size manipulation on stress hormone levels, leukocyte profiles and immune responses against challenge with novel antigens in nestling and parent male pied flycatchers ( Ficedula hypoleuca). In male parents, heterophil (H) and lymphocyte (L) numbers, as well as H/L ratio increased with experimentally enlarged brood size, and corticosterone levels tended to do so, indicating that high parental work load altered their stress level and physiological state. Despite this, we found no effects on humoral immune responsiveness, measured as antibody production against diphtheria-tetanus vaccine. In nestlings, heterophil numbers and H/L ratio increased in enlarged broods, whereas T-cell-mediated immune responsiveness, measured against phytohemagglutinin (PHA), decreased in enlarged broods. The results support the view that growth-stress-induced immunosuppression may be an important physiological pathway mediating the trade-off between the number and viability of offspring. The difference in the observed immune-related responses between nestlings and males may be because we measured different aspects of the immune system (cellular vs humoral). However, it may also be a result of males lowering their own costs by feeding less, (and their mate possibly compensate by feeding more), whereas nestlings cannot escape the costs of increased intra-brood competition.     

Relationships between egg size, chick size at hatching, and chick survival in the Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus

The relationships between egg size, chick size at hatching and chick survival in Whimbrels Numenius phaeopus were studied over a three-year period in the Shetland Isles. Three measurements of chick size at hatching were all positively correlated with egg volume, though the relationship was strongest with hatchling body-weight. In two of the three years the proportion of chicks from a brood which survived to fledging increased significantly with the mean hatching weight of chicks in the brood. Within broods, a significant effect of hatching weight on survival was detectable only up to 7 days after hatching. Between years the egg volumes and hatchling weights of individual female Whimbrels showed relatively little variability, indicating that these attributes could be controlled to a large extent by inheritance.     

Ovarian dynamics, egg size, and egg number in relation to temperature and mating status in a butterfly

Although the temperature‐size rule, that is, an increase in egg (and body) size at lower temperatures, applies almost universally to ectotherms, the developmental mechanisms underlying this consistent pattern of phenotypic plasticity are hitherto unknown. By investigating ovarian dynamics and reproductive output in the tropical butterfly Bicyclus anynana (Butler) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) in relation to oviposition temperature and mating status, we tested the relevance of several competing hypotheses for temperature‐mediated variation in egg size and number. As expected, females ovipositing at a lower temperature laid fewer but larger eggs than those ovipositing at a higher temperature. Despite pronounced differences in egg‐laying rates, oocyte numbers were equal across temperatures at any given time, while oocyte size increased at the lower temperature. In contrast, there were greatly reduced oocyte numbers in mated compared to virgin females. Our results indicated that temperature‐mediated plasticity in egg size cannot be explained by reduced costs of somatic maintenance at lower temperatures, enabling the allocation of more resources to reproduction (reproductive investment was higher at the higher temperature). Furthermore, there was no indication for delayed oviposition (no accumulation of oocytes at the lower temperature, in contrast to virgin females). Rather, low temperatures greatly reduced the oocyte production (i.e., differentiation) rate and prolonged egg‐maturation time, causing low egg‐laying rates. Our data thus suggested that oocyte growth is less sensitive to temperature than oocyte production, resulting in a lower number of larger eggs at lower temperatures.     

Ballooning activity of Chilo partellus larvae in relation to size of mother, egg batches, eggs and larvae and age of mother

In a study of male alary dimorphism, clones of pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), were collected five times over two seasons in one location and once each from three other latitudes in the Great Plains region of North America. All clones produced some males when subjected to a short photoperiod (L14: D10 or L13: D11) at 20 °C. The presence of three distinct classes of clones based on the morph of males they produced (apterous only; alate only; apterous and alate in equal proportions) provides evidence for a genetic basis for the dimorphism. The relative frequencies of clones producing only apterous males varied geographically, providing some evidence to support the hypothesis that populations are not panmictic over the Great Plains region.

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Résumé Le dimorphisme alaire mâle, — ou présence de mâle ailé et aptère —, s'observe à l'intérieur et en fonction des clones de A. pisum Harris. Notre objectif est de décrire la distribution et la fréquence de ces deux morphes. 143 clones de pucerons du pois ont été récoltés sur Medicago sativa dans quatre stations de la Grande Plaine d'Amérique du Nord, entre 44° 45 et 53° 12 N: à cinq reprises pendant deux saisons dans une station, et une fois dans chacune des 3 autres stations. Tous les clones, soumis à une photopériode courte: L14: D10 ou L13: D11 à 20 °C, ont produit quelques mâles. Les 8 échantillons ont donné à la fois des mâles aptères et ailés, et les observations dans les clones confortent les expériences.Trois classes de clones ont été formées à partir des morphes produits: mâles aptères seuls, mâles ailés seuls, ou quantités égales de chaque morphe. La fréquence par rapport à la distribution binomiale a été utilisée pour montrer que pour presque tous les clones produisant les deux morphes, les proportions étaient 1:1. Ces observations prouvent que la présence ou l'absence d'ailes est déterminée génétiquement, probablement par un gène diallélique lié au sexe. La fréquence des clones produisant uniquement des mâles aptères varie en fonction des populations examinées, ce qui laisse supposer une perte de panmixie à travers la Grande Plaine, quant au morphe des mâles.

     

Effects of temperature and season on egg size, hatchling size and adult size in Notiophilus biguttatus

1. Temperature-induced egg size variation and its effects on successive life stages in the carabid beetle Notiophilus biguttatus were examined.
2. In the laboratory, across temperature regimes, egg size and number were inversely related; number of eggs and total egg mass were higher, but egg size was smaller at high temperatures.
3. Food intake rate was shown not to be involved in the temperature effect on egg size.
4. Within the higher temperature regimes, among females, egg size was negatively correlated with number of eggs and with total egg mass.
5. Data on egg mortality and egg development time did not explain why at low temperature eggs were larger than at high temperature.
6. Larvae hatching from eggs produced at a low temperature were heavier than larvae from eggs produced at a high temperature, irrespective of temperature during development.
7. In a prolonged outdoor experiment (January – July), encompassing the main breeding period of N. biguttatus , egg size decreased and both egg production rate and total egg mass increased in the course of the experiment.
8. In the field, an effect of seasonal change in temperature on adult body size was found; teneral beetles that had their juvenile period early in the season were larger than those that had their juvenile period later in the season.
9. The results of the study suggest a mechanistic explanation in which the egg size response to temperature follows from a difference in temperature sensitivity between two processes in oogenesis; adaptiveness of the temperature response was not clarified.     

Effects of egg size and composition on the size, quality and survival of lapwing Vanellus vanellus chicks

The influence of egg size and composition on the size, quality and survival of lapwing chicks was examined on two farmland study sites in the Midland Valley of Scotland. Eggs comprised 33.1% yolk, 61.3% albumen and 5.6% shell. Whereas the yolk and shell proportions decreased with increasing egg size, the albumen proportion increased. Most variation in egg size was attributable to differences between females but was also influenced by clutch number (eggs in replacement clutches on the rough grazing, but not the arable, site were smaller), clutch size (eggs were smaller in smaller clutches), maternal body condition (females in good condition produced larger eggs) and habitat (since females on the arable site fed more successfully, they were in better condition and laid larger eggs). Chick size, weight and survival were all influenced by egg size. The incubation period varied between 21 and 28 days (mean = 25.2) and was shorter in clutches laid later in the season.     

Laying date, clutch size and egg size of the Mallard Anas platyrhynchos and Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula

The effect of spring temperature on first egg date, laying period and last clutch date was studied in the Mallard and Tufted Duck. Seasonal clutch size and egg size trends were also examined. In years When Mallard laid early, Tufted Duck also did so. The first Mallard clutch was started earlier and laying period was longer in years with a high mean February temperature. The last clutch was started later in years with a high mean June temperature. In Tufted Duck the laying period increased and the last clutch was started later in years with high mean April temperatures.
Mean hatching date of Mallard clutches was later in years when the date of peak chironomid emergence was late.
In both species, clutch size declined through the season. Egg volume was not related to clutch size in either species, but egg volume in the Tufted Duck declined through the season. No difference in Tufted Duck egg size existed between sites, but the significance of egg size on duckling survival is discussed. Genetic factors related to individual consistency in egg size in Mallard may have obscured egg volume trends during the season because of renesting.     

Ovarian egg size and number in relation to female size in five species of parasitoid wasps

Within five species of parasitoid wasps of the families Pteromalidae ( Morodora armata Gahan, Muscidifurax zaraptor K. & L., Nasonia vitripennis (Walker)), Bethylidae ( Goniozus legneri Gordh), and Tiphiidae ( Myzinum quinquecinctum (Fabricius)), we found significant positive correlations between female body size and both the number and the size of the mature oocytes present in the ovaries. These data are discussed with reference to current clutch size and egg size models and biological information available on these species.     

Variation of adult Great Tit Parus major body condition and blood parameters in relation to sex, age, year and season

In recent years, an increasing number of studies have focused on the ranges of variation of health related biochemical and haematological parameters in wildlife, but information is still scarce for enzymatic activities which can be extremely important in detecting potential responses to environmental change. In a Great Tit (Parus major) population, we describe the variation in relation to age, sex, season and year of: (1) morphological: body condition index, fat and muscle, (2) haematological: hematocrit, haemoglobin, white blood cell count and heterophil/lymphocyte ratio, and (3) biochemical parameters: plasma protein and activities of plasma cholinesterases (acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase) activity and red blood cell glutathione peroxidase. Sex had significant effects on all morphological parameters except fat. Age significantly affected cholinesterase activities, H/L ratio and haemoglobin, and there was a significant interaction between sex and age affecting hematocrit. There were significant interactions of year and season affecting almost all parameters studied—body condition index, fat, protein, acetyl and butyrylcholinesterase activities, glutathione peroxidase activity and haemoglobin. This study indicates that these parameters are largely influenced by year and seasonal effects, besides the individual’s intrinsic variation. Therefore, when evaluating experimental or environmental change effects, appropriate controls should be used.