‘Clicking’ in the Egg-young of Nidifugous Birds

Driver, Peter M.

doi:10.1038/206315a0

Cited by 21 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Many birds, especially precocial species, are known to emit pre‐hatching calls (termed “peeping” and “clicking”: Driver, 1965, 1967; Oppenheim, 1972). These embryonic vocalizations may signal imminent hatching and stimulate behaviours such as egg turning or the switch from incubation to brooding and feeding behaviour (Brua, 1996; Evans, 1988; Impekoven, 1973).…”

Section: Crocodilian Vocalizations: a Variety Of Signals With Uncmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acoustic communication in crocodilians: from behaviour to brain

2009

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Crocodilians and birds are the modern representatives of Phylum Archosauria. Although there have been recent advances in our understanding of the phylogeny and ecology of ancient archosaurs like dinosaurs, it still remains a challenge to obtain reliable information about their behaviour. The comparative study of birds and crocodiles represents one approach to this interesting problem. One of their shared behavioural features is the use of acoustic communication, especially in the context of parental care. Although considerable data are available for birds, information concerning crocodilians is limited. The aim of this review is to summarize current knowledge about acoustic communication in crocodilians, from sound production to hearing processes, and to stimulate research in this field. Juvenile crocodilians utter a variety of communication sounds that can be classified into various functional categories: (1) "hatching calls", solicit the parents at hatching and fine-tune hatching synchrony among siblings; (2) "contact calls", thought to maintain cohesion among juveniles; (3) "distress calls", induce parental protection; and (4) "threat and disturbance calls", which perhaps function in defence. Adult calls can likewise be classified as follows: (1) "bellows", emitted by both sexes and believed to function during courtship and territorial defence; (2) "maternal growls", might maintain cohesion among offspring; and (3) "hisses", may function in defence. However, further experiments are needed to identify the role of each call more accurately as well as systematic studies concerning the acoustic structure of vocalizations. The mechanism of sound production and its control are also poorly understood. No specialized vocal apparatus has been described in detail and the motor neural circuitry remains to be elucidated. The hearing capabilities of crocodilians appear to be adapted to sound detection in both air and water. The ear functional anatomy and the auditory sensitivity of these reptiles are similar in many respects to those of birds. The crocodilian nervous system likewise shares many features with that of birds, especially regarding the neuroanatomy of the auditory pathways. However, the functional anatomy of the telencephalic auditory areas is less well understood in crocodilians compared to birds.

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Section: Crocodilian Vocalizations: a Variety Of Signals With Uncmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acoustic communication in crocodilians: from behaviour to brain

2009

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“…For instance, in the California grunion Leurethes tenuis, synchronous hatching is attained by mechanical agitation, such as that caused by turbulent surf at high tides (Walker 1952;Griem and Martin 2000), and in the red-eyed tree frog Agalychnis callidryas, snake-induced vibrations facilitate synchronous hatching (Warkentin 1995(Warkentin , 2005Warkentin et al 2007). In crabs, the eggs shaken by their female parent hatch in synchrony near the time of nocturnal high tides (Morgan and Christy 1995;Skov et al 2005), and in crocodilians and precocial birds, vocalizations by the embryos can facilitate Communicated by J. C. Choe synchronous hatching (Driver 1965;Nicolai et al 2004;Vergne and Mathevon 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria, eggs hatch in synchrony in a mass but not when separated

Nishide

Tanaka

2016

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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This laboratory study examined the stimuli involved in controlling egg hatching in the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria. We found that eggs that were kept in their egg pods hatched in synchrony, whereas those that were kept individually hatched over an extended period of time and took significantly longer to hatch. Synchronous hatching was also observed in pairs of eggs that were kept in contact with each other in the same plastic wells, but not in those that were kept individually in separate wells. This demonstrates that the eggs needed to be placed in contact with each other to achieve synchronous hatching and suggests that a hatching individual stimulates adjacent eggs to hatch via some unknown stimulus. Additional experiments suggested that neither auditory nor pheromonal stimuli were important in this process, but rather some sort of vibratory stimulus. This inference was supported by the results of another experiment, which demonstrated that when isolated eggs were vibrated with a vortex mixer, most of them hatched shortly after the stimulation. Our results suggest the possibility that direct mechanical stimulation caused by the first egg to hatch stimulates adjacent eggs to also hatch, thus producing synchronous hatching in the entire egg pod. However, the exact nature of this stimulus remains to be determined. Significance statementSynchronous hatching is often observed in insects. It helps hatchlings to form aggregations and to reduce the risk of predation and cannibalism. Yet, the mechanism controlling this phenomenon has received little attention except for a few subsocial species. This study demonstrates that eggs kept in their egg pods hatched in synchrony, whereas those kept individually in sand hatched over an extended period of time and took longer to hatch. Synchronous hatching was also observed in pairs of eggs that were kept in contact with each other but not placed some distance apart from each other. We also show that artificial vibration induced hatching.

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“…We examined two hypotheses to explain hatching synchrony. The vocalization hypothesis states that embryos from earlier laid eggs accelerate hatch of embryos from later laid eggs through vocalizations as hatch approaches (Driver 1965; Persson & Andersson 1999). We predicted that, if goslings synchronize hatch through inter‐egg communication, there would be no mean difference in development time among eggs in clutches of eggs representing a single PILS, after controlling for egg size.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regulation of development time and hatch synchronization in Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans)

2004

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Summary 1.Eggs of precocial bird clutches hatch more synchronously than they are laid. The widely accepted hypothesis to explain hatching synchrony has been that vocalizations from earlier laid embryos accelerate development of later laid embryos. The relationship between position in the laying sequence (hereafter PILS) and time to hatching was investigated in Black Brant ( Branta bernicla nigricans L.; hereafter brant). Factors associated with variation in incubation duration were also examined. 2. Experimental clutches comprising eggs laid on the same day from the same PILS were assembled to eliminate the effects of earlier laid eggs on those laid later. This experiment allowed us to examine developmental time in clutches without the effects of interactions between eggs laid earlier in the sequence and those laid later. In a separate experiment, clutches were manipulated so that the full complement of laying sequences was maintained in each clutch, but each egg originated from a different female. This experiment allowed us to separate the influences of genetic-maternal effects from the influence of nest environment and incubation behaviour. Developmental time was also monitored in a set of clutches that were unmanipulated. 3. Metabolic rates of eggs from each PILS were measured at mid-incubation and the day before hatch for both experimental and control nests. By measuring metabolic rates, it was possible to examine changes in metabolic rates of embryos as hatch approaches, which may be another mechanism to synchronize hatch. 4. No difference was detected in incubation period between control and manipulated clutches. There was a steady decline in incubation period from first to last laid eggs independent of the clutch type. Fifth laid eggs required >3 days less to hatch than those laid first. These data suggest that sounds produced by brood mates and / or female incubation patterns are not the principal mechanisms for hatching synchrony. Both genetic and host mothers influenced overall developmental time, indicating that genetic-maternal effects and incubation behaviour and nest environment also influenced developmental time. 5. Embryonic metabolic rate was negatively correlated with number of days before hatch, but there was not a positive relationship between PILS and metabolic rate. Our findings show that embryonic metabolic rate may affect development more than vocalizations between brood members in synchronizing hatch.

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‘Clicking’ in the Egg-young of Nidifugous Birds

Cited by 21 publications

References 4 publications

Acoustic communication in crocodilians: from behaviour to brain

Acoustic communication in crocodilians: from behaviour to brain

Desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria, eggs hatch in synchrony in a mass but not when separated

Regulation of development time and hatch synchronization in Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans)

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