Incubation temperature does not explain variation in the embryo development periods in a sample of Neotropical passerine birds

Robinson, W. Douglas; Austin, Suzanne H.; Robinson, Tara Rodden; Ricklefs, Robert E.

doi:10.1007/s10336-013-0985-9

Cited by 15 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Recent work on latitudinal differences in incubation period between temperate and tropical birds suggests that adult attendance does not completely account for the longer incubation periods in tropical birds (Robinson et al , but see Chalfoun and Martin ). Common garden experiments on a suite of lowland tropical species have not accelerated development despite effectively removing any influence of adult attendance on embryonic development (Robinson et al , , but see Martin et al ). Hence, photoperiod may play a role in determining incubation periods across latitudes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of photoperiod on incubation period in a wild passerine, Sylvia atricapilla

Austin

Hau

Robinson

2014

Journal of Avian Biology

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Time required for avian embryos to develop is influenced by incubation temperature and the amount of time adults incubate eggs. Experiments on poultry indicate that photoacceleration, the light‐induced stimulation of embryonic development, decreases the length of the incubation period as embryos receive more light. We hypothesized that eggs of wild birds exposed to longer periods of light should also have shorter incubation periods. We tested whether photoacceleration would occur in a species of open‐cup nesting passerine, the blackcap Sylvia atricapilla. We artificially incubated blackcap eggs under four different photoperiods, four hours of light (4L) and 20 h of dark (20D), 12L:12D, 20L:4D, and a skeleton photoperiod (1 h light, 2 times per day) that framed a 20 h day. While incubation periods were accelerated with increasing photoperiod length, the differences among photoperiods of 4, 12 and 20L were weak. Embryos exposed to skeleton photoperiods developed as fast as those exposed to 20L and significantly faster than those exposed to 4L and 12L treatments. Skeleton photoperiods may most closely approximate natural patterns of light exposure that embryos experience during dawn and dusk incubation recesses typically associated with adult foraging. If our results from this species also occur in other wild birds, exposure to different day lengths may help explain some of the variation in the observed seasonal and latitudinal trends in avian incubation period.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of photoperiod on incubation period in a wild passerine, Sylvia atricapilla

Austin

Hau

Robinson

2014

Journal of Avian Biology

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“…, Robinson et al. ). The relatively short incubation period of Black‐faced Brush‐finches, despite their low egg temperatures and nest attentiveness, emphasizes the need for additional studies of parental care strategies and the intrinsic properties of eggs and embryos that influence development.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This apparent discrepancy may reflect intrinsic differences in the embryonic development programs of different species, the influence of which has been demonstrated in the laboratory by incubating eggs from different species at constant temperatures (Robinson et al. ) and in the field by exchanging eggs between nests of different species (Martin et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breeding biology and egg temperatures of Black-faced Brush-finches (Atlapetes melanolaemus ), Neotropical montane songbirds

Forrester

Londoño

2016

J. Field Ornithol.

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Black‐faced Brush‐finches (Atlapetes melanolaemus) are a common species restricted to the Andes of southern Peru and western Bolivia. We provide the first description of the breeding biology of this Neotropical montane passerine, including an analysis of incubation behavior and egg temperatures. We found 47 nests during seven breeding seasons (2007–2013) near Manu National Park, Peru. Nesting occurred in late July, peaked in early October, and continued into early December. All clutches consisted of two eggs, and the mean incubation period (14.8 ± 0.2 d) was relatively short compared with related species. Nest attentiveness increased and the length of foraging trips decreased as the incubation period progressed, but the number of foraging trips/day was constant. Egg temperatures when birds returned to incubate were negatively correlated with the duration of incubation bouts, whereas ambient temperature and the duration of the previous incubation bout were positively correlated with the duration of foraging bouts. Eggs were consistently incubated at lower temperatures (24‐h mean = 32.1°C) than other Neotropical and temperate species. When incubating birds left nests, egg temperature dropped below the physiological zero temperature (24–27°C) in ~11 min. Nestlings had a high growth rate (k = 0.60) and a long nestling period (mean = 13.8 d) compared with related Neotropical and temperate emberizines. By showing that the duration of incubation and foraging bouts are affected by different intrinsic and extrinsic factors, we provide evidence that incubation is not only temporally dynamic, but also finely modifiable. Our results also suggest that embryos of high‐elevation Neotropical songbirds are particularly resistant to ambient temperature extremes and low incubation temperatures, emphasizing the need for more studies of egg thermoregulation and its consequences for development, growth, and survival. We conclude that closely related species, both on different continents and at the same locations, may differ in parental care strategies and development regimes, cautioning against broad generalizations regarding species groups or geographic areas.

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“…Egg swapping experiments have shown that eggs of species normally incubated at lower temperatures have shorter incubation periods when incubated in nests of species that maintain their eggs at higher temperatures (Martin et al, ). In contrast, Robinson and colleagues (Robinson, Austin, Robinson, & Ricklefs, ; Robinson, Styrsky, Payne, Harper, & Thompson, ) utilized artificial incubators to maintain eggs of tropical house wrens ( Troglodytes aedon inquietus ), temperate house wrens ( T. a. aedon ), and several lowland tropical songbirds at constant high temperature (i.e., 36.5°C), which removed the effects of parental attendance behavior on incubation period. Neither treatment consistently reduced the duration of incubation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Variation in embryo developmental rate might also be related, at least partly, to differences among species in mechanisms to reduce posthatching mortality (Ricklefs, ; Ricklefs et al, ; Robinson et al, , ; Tieleman et al, ). Embryo development and adult incubation behavior presumably reflect selection on both to maximize individual fitness in a given environment (Tinbergen & Williams, ; Vleck & Vleck, ; Williams, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nest attendance by tropical and temperate passerine birds: Same constancy, different strategy

Austin

Robinson

Ellis

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Parental care in birds varies among species and geographic regions. Incubation behavior influences embryonic development rate and varies substantially among species.We studied attendance at the nest by videoing nests or collecting data from the literature for 112 species in north temperate and lowland tropical sites, then associated patterns of incubation on‐ and off‐bouts with species and environmental traits.Songbirds nesting at low elevations incubate their eggs for an average of 74.1% (±12.9 SD, n = 60 species) of the time in temperate regions and 71.0% (±12.2 SD, n = 52 species) in tropical regions during daylight hours, and 84.3% (±8.2 SD) and 85.3% (±6.2 SD), respectively, of each 24‐hr cycle.While these attendance percentages do not differ significantly between latitudes, our data also show that lowland tropical songbirds make fewer visits to the nest and, consequently, have longer on‐bouts and off‐bouts during incubation. This pattern in attendance reflects a latitudinal contrast in parental care strategy, where lowland tropical birds reduce visits to the nest by increasing on‐ and off‐bout lengths while maintaining the same proportion of time spent incubating their eggs (constancy).Similar constancy across latitude suggests that tropical and temperate birds may be similarly constrained to maintain elevated egg temperatures for normal embryo growth.The different attendance strategies adopted in each region may reflect differences in ambient temperature, adult foraging time, and nest predation rate. Consistently warm ambient temperatures likely allow tropical birds to take longer off‐bouts, and thereby to reduce activity around the nest, compared to temperate birds.

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Incubation temperature does not explain variation in the embryo development periods in a sample of Neotropical passerine birds

Cited by 15 publications

References 25 publications

Effect of photoperiod on incubation period in a wild passerine, Sylvia atricapilla

Effect of photoperiod on incubation period in a wild passerine, Sylvia atricapilla

Breeding biology and egg temperatures of Black-faced Brush-finches (Atlapetes melanolaemus ), Neotropical montane songbirds

Nest attendance by tropical and temperate passerine birds: Same constancy, different strategy

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