Abstract
Analysis of variation can offer insights into the factors affecting avian embryonic development that refine the understanding based on central tendencies. The magnitude of individual parameters may vary greatly between individuals as well as between species. For example, in Agapornis roseicollis water vapor conductance of eggs of different individuals varies by a factor of at least 7. This results in an extreme range of air cell gas tensions (\({P_{A{O_2}}}\) as low as 46 torr; \({P_{AC{O_2}}}\) as high as 90 torr) which appear to be well tolerated by the embryos. Completion of the chorioallantois occurs much later in incubation in Agapornis and Pelecanus than in the precocial chicken.
The total production efficiency of Agapornis embryos is 44.8%. Comparative data are not available for other birds, but this value is higher than published values for mammals.
Comparative analysis of some aspects of embryonic development such as the patterns of relative growth rate and of mass-specific energy expenditure indicate that growth phenomena are affected by a set of diverse factors that include egg mass, time, energy expenditure, phylogeny, and ecological niche. The relative importance of each of these to the cost of embryonic development can be assayed by multivariate statistics. For example, among 49 species with eggs ranging in mass from 0.9 g to 1.45 kg, no single factor adequately accounts for the observed five-fold variation in the energy expended during embryonic development per gram of egg. However, in order of importance. the three most critical variables are log egg mass, log days of incubation, and developmental type — a categorization reflecting phylogeny and ecological niche.
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Bucher, T.L., Bartholomew, G.A. (1984). Analysis of variation in gas exchange, growth patterns, and energy utilization in a parrot and other avian embryos. In: Seymour, R.S. (eds) Respiration and metabolism of embryonic vertebrates. Perspectives in vertebrate science, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6536-2_26
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6536-2_26
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