Thickness of Common Murre (Uria aalge) eggshells in Atlantic Canada

Reported values for eggshell thickness in Common Murre (Uria aalge) are few, and even fewer since the decline in use of organochlorine pesticides and other environmental pollutants that caused significant thinning of shells. The eggshells of Common Murres and Thick-billed Murres (Uria lomvia) are am...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Canadian Field-Naturalist
Main Authors: Pirie-Hay, Donald W., Bond, Alexander L.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club 2014
Subjects:
Common Murre
Uria aalge
eggshell thickness
egg size
Atlantic Canada
Bay of Fundy
Gull Island
Machias Seal Island
Witless Bay
New Brunswick
Newfoundland and Labrador
Canada
Canada Bay
Newfoundland
Uria lomvia
Seal Island
uria
Online Access:https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/1553
https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v128i1.1553
Description
Summary:Reported values for eggshell thickness in Common Murre (Uria aalge) are few, and even fewer since the decline in use of organochlorine pesticides and other environmental pollutants that caused significant thinning of shells. The eggshells of Common Murres and Thick-billed Murres (Uria lomvia) are among the thickest and heaviest, proportionately, of any bird and this represents a non-trivial maternal investment. We measured the length and breadth of Common Murre eggs collected from Machias Seal Island, New Brunswick, in 2006, and Gull Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, in 2012, and we measured the thickness of the eggshells. Shell thickness was not related to egg size or volume, and it varied in individual eggs. The shells of Common Murre eggs from Machias Seal Island (mean and standard deviation [SD] (0.767, SD 0.078 mm) and Gull Island (0.753, SD 0.057 mm) were significantly thicker than any previously reported value and among the thickest of all birds. Such thickness is likely a result of nesting on rock substrate with no nesting material and, perhaps, high breeding densities.

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