Yolk mass variation in White-Rumped Swallows (Tachycineta leucorrhoa)

Egg mass production is costly, but hatching from heavier eggs could be beneficial for the nestling's phenotype and fitness. Egg mass could be influenced by proximate causes, like food abundance, female condition, environmental conditions, and/or by ultimate causes, such as females depositing re...

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Autores principales: Barrionuevo, Melina, Bulit, Florencia, Massoni, Viviana
Publicado: 2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_15594491_v126_n1_p86_Barrionuevo
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_15594491_v126_n1_p86_Barrionuevo
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id paper:paper_15594491_v126_n1_p86_Barrionuevo
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spelling paper:paper_15594491_v126_n1_p86_Barrionuevo2023-06-08T16:23:49Z Yolk mass variation in White-Rumped Swallows (Tachycineta leucorrhoa) Barrionuevo, Melina Bulit, Florencia Massoni, Viviana Egg mass food abundance proximate causes Tachycineta leucorrhoa yolk mass egg size embryo environmental conditions fitness food availability insect nestling ornithology passerine reproductive cost Egg mass production is costly, but hatching from heavier eggs could be beneficial for the nestling's phenotype and fitness. Egg mass could be influenced by proximate causes, like food abundance, female condition, environmental conditions, and/or by ultimate causes, such as females depositing resources differentially within a clutch to increase the biological fitness of some eggs. Yolk mass, although poorly studied, is the source of nutrients for the embryo, so its mass should be more influential for the nestlings than total egg mass. We used a technique that allowed us to measure yolk size without destroying the eggs. We studied yolk mass in 212 eggs of White-rumped Swallows (Tachycineta leucorrhoa) and found that yolk mass was influenced by laying order, with last laid eggs having heavier yolks than first laid eggs, and the pattern was consistent with egg mass variation. Food abundance also affected yolk mass: when insect availability was high the yolks were heavier. We conclude that embryos in the last laid eggs have more resources from which to develop, and excluding food abundance, neither environmental conditions nor female's condition affected yolk mass. We encourage other researchers to study yolk mass given that multiple variables affected total egg mass. © Copyright 2014 by the Wilson Ornithological Society. Fil:Barrionuevo, M. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Fil:Bulit, F. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Fil:Massoni, V. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. 2014 https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_15594491_v126_n1_p86_Barrionuevo http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_15594491_v126_n1_p86_Barrionuevo
institution Universidad de Buenos Aires
institution_str I-28
repository_str R-134
collection Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA)
topic Egg mass
food abundance
proximate causes
Tachycineta leucorrhoa
yolk mass
egg size
embryo
environmental conditions
fitness
food availability
insect
nestling
ornithology
passerine
reproductive cost
spellingShingle Egg mass
food abundance
proximate causes
Tachycineta leucorrhoa
yolk mass
egg size
embryo
environmental conditions
fitness
food availability
insect
nestling
ornithology
passerine
reproductive cost
Barrionuevo, Melina
Bulit, Florencia
Massoni, Viviana
Yolk mass variation in White-Rumped Swallows (Tachycineta leucorrhoa)
topic_facet Egg mass
food abundance
proximate causes
Tachycineta leucorrhoa
yolk mass
egg size
embryo
environmental conditions
fitness
food availability
insect
nestling
ornithology
passerine
reproductive cost
description Egg mass production is costly, but hatching from heavier eggs could be beneficial for the nestling's phenotype and fitness. Egg mass could be influenced by proximate causes, like food abundance, female condition, environmental conditions, and/or by ultimate causes, such as females depositing resources differentially within a clutch to increase the biological fitness of some eggs. Yolk mass, although poorly studied, is the source of nutrients for the embryo, so its mass should be more influential for the nestlings than total egg mass. We used a technique that allowed us to measure yolk size without destroying the eggs. We studied yolk mass in 212 eggs of White-rumped Swallows (Tachycineta leucorrhoa) and found that yolk mass was influenced by laying order, with last laid eggs having heavier yolks than first laid eggs, and the pattern was consistent with egg mass variation. Food abundance also affected yolk mass: when insect availability was high the yolks were heavier. We conclude that embryos in the last laid eggs have more resources from which to develop, and excluding food abundance, neither environmental conditions nor female's condition affected yolk mass. We encourage other researchers to study yolk mass given that multiple variables affected total egg mass. © Copyright 2014 by the Wilson Ornithological Society.
author Barrionuevo, Melina
Bulit, Florencia
Massoni, Viviana
author_facet Barrionuevo, Melina
Bulit, Florencia
Massoni, Viviana
author_sort Barrionuevo, Melina
title Yolk mass variation in White-Rumped Swallows (Tachycineta leucorrhoa)
title_short Yolk mass variation in White-Rumped Swallows (Tachycineta leucorrhoa)
title_full Yolk mass variation in White-Rumped Swallows (Tachycineta leucorrhoa)
title_fullStr Yolk mass variation in White-Rumped Swallows (Tachycineta leucorrhoa)
title_full_unstemmed Yolk mass variation in White-Rumped Swallows (Tachycineta leucorrhoa)
title_sort yolk mass variation in white-rumped swallows (tachycineta leucorrhoa)
publishDate 2014
url https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_15594491_v126_n1_p86_Barrionuevo
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_15594491_v126_n1_p86_Barrionuevo
work_keys_str_mv AT barrionuevomelina yolkmassvariationinwhiterumpedswallowstachycinetaleucorrhoa
AT bulitflorencia yolkmassvariationinwhiterumpedswallowstachycinetaleucorrhoa
AT massoniviviana yolkmassvariationinwhiterumpedswallowstachycinetaleucorrhoa
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