Developmental phenotypic plasticity in embryos during incubation
Author
Summary, in English
Bird embryos depend on the attendance of parents to provide the optimal temperature for development. When
parents cannot incubate optimally, the embryos need to adjust rates of growth and modes of development to compensate. I review data on the plasticity of embryo growth in birds, and relate this to mode of incubation, climate, nest insulation, and the continuum between precocial and altricial species. I also review the effects on hatchling survival of ensuing suboptimal growth trajectories. In several precocial species that require hatching synchrony, growth rate and mode of growth in embryos can be accelerated or retarded depending on the position of the embryo in the laying sequence. Communication between embryos in eggs late in incubation conveys information on the degree of maturity and time to hatching of each. This makes it possible for embryos in eggs produced after the start of incubation to accelerate growth in order to hatch at the same time as their siblings. I evaluate the circumstances under which such acceleration (or retardation) will occur, and how this affects the mode of growth and hatchling performance and survival.
parents cannot incubate optimally, the embryos need to adjust rates of growth and modes of development to compensate. I review data on the plasticity of embryo growth in birds, and relate this to mode of incubation, climate, nest insulation, and the continuum between precocial and altricial species. I also review the effects on hatchling survival of ensuing suboptimal growth trajectories. In several precocial species that require hatching synchrony, growth rate and mode of growth in embryos can be accelerated or retarded depending on the position of the embryo in the laying sequence. Communication between embryos in eggs late in incubation conveys information on the degree of maturity and time to hatching of each. This makes it possible for embryos in eggs produced after the start of incubation to accelerate growth in order to hatch at the same time as their siblings. I evaluate the circumstances under which such acceleration (or retardation) will occur, and how this affects the mode of growth and hatchling performance and survival.
Publishing year
2006
Language
English
Pages
662-665
Publication/Series
Acta Zoologica Sinica
Volume
52
Issue
Supplement
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Topic
- Biological Sciences
Status
Published
Research group
- Life History and Functional Ecology
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 0001-7302