Abstract
Growth of avian embryos depends on heat transferred from incubating parents. Parental behavior, including nest characteristics, can influence the length of the incubation period by varying the temperature of incubated eggs, the length of parental absences from the nest, and the rate of egg cooling during absences. Reduced parental attendance in response to risk of predation at the nest has been proposed as an explanation for the longer incubation periods of many tropical birds compared to temperate species. We incubated the eggs of eight species of tropical passerine birds, with natural incubation periods between 12 and 19 days, at the same constant temperature, thereby removing variation in incubation temperature and the cooling periods that eggs might otherwise experience when parents take recesses from incubation. If differences in egg temperature, reflecting parental behavior, were responsible for variation in incubation periods, incubation under constant conditions should reduce or eliminate this variation. Constant egg warming did not reduce time to hatch in species with long incubation periods. Instead, it prolonged embryo development in species with shorter natural periods by up to 2 days, and had no effect on species with longer natural periods. Thus, the longer incubation periods of some tropical birds appear to reflect intrinsic differences in the embryo development program rather than extrinsic factors related to parental incubation behavior.
Zusammenfassung
Konstante Bebrütung beschleunigt nicht die Embryonalentwicklung bei neotropischen Singvogelarten
Das Wachstum von Vogelembryonen hängt von der durch den brütenden Altvogel erzeugten Wärme ab. Das elterliche Verhalten inklusive der Nesteigenschaften kann die Länge der Inkubationsphase durch variierende Temperaturen der bebrüteten Eier, durch die Länge der Abwesenheitsphasen der Eltern vom Gelege sowie durch die Auskühlung der Eier während dieser Abwesenheitsphasen beeinflussen. Eine verringerte elterliche Nestbesetzung infolge des Prädationsrisikos auf dem Nest könnte eine Erklärung liefern für längere Inkubationszeiten bei vielen tropischen Vogelarten im Vergleich zu Arten der gemäßigten Zonen. Wir untersuchten die Embryonalentwicklung von acht tropischen Singvogelarten und bebrüteten deren Eier mit normalen Inkubationszeiten von 12 bis 19 Tagen bei konstanter Temperatur. Damit konnten Schwankungen der Bebrütungstemperatur und ein Auskühlen der Eier vermieden werden, was unter natürlichen Bedingungen passieren kann, wenn Altvögel die Bebrütung unterbrechen. Wenn Unterschiede in der Eiertemperatur, ausgelöst durch das elterliche Bebrütungsverhalten, verantwortlich sind für Schwankungen der Gesamtinkubationszeit, dann sollte eine Bebrütung unter konstanten Bedingungen diese Schwankungen reduzieren oder eliminieren. Bei Arten mit langen Inkubationszeiten hat eine konstante Gelegetemperatur nicht zu einem früheren Schlupf der Eier geführt. Stattdessen hat sich die Embryonalentwicklung bei Arten mit kurzen Bebrütungszeiten bis zu zwei Tage verlängert und hatte keinen Effekt bei Arten mit längeren Inkubationszeiten. Demnach scheinen bei einigen tropischen Vogelarten die längeren Inkubationszeiten eher intrinsische Unterschiede in der Embryonalentwicklung zu reflektieren, als extrinsische Faktoren im Zusammenhang mit dem elterlichen Inkubationsverhalten.
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Acknowledgments
For their help in the field, we thank Lisa Miller, David Bradley, Ruby Zambrano, Betzi Perez, BriAnne Addison, and Rebecca Gamboa. We were supported by NSF (IBN-0212587). Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute provided logistical support. Egg handling was approved by Oregon State University Animal Care Protocol 3212 and permitted by Republic of Panama Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (ANAM).
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Communicated by L. Fusani.
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Robinson, W.D., Austin, S.H., Robinson, T.R. et al. Incubation temperature does not explain variation in the embryo development periods in a sample of Neotropical passerine birds. J Ornithol 155, 45–51 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-013-0985-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-013-0985-9