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...
Published in: | The Canadian Field-Naturalist |
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The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club
2014
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Online Access: | https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/1553 https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v128i1.1553 |
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ftjcfn:oai:canadianfieldnaturalist.ca:article/1553 2023-05-15T15:56:02+02:00 Thickness of Common Murre (Uria aalge) eggshells in Atlantic Canada Pirie-Hay, Donald W. Bond, Alexander L. 2014-03-26 application/pdf https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/1553 https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v128i1.1553 eng eng The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/1553/1569 https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/1553 doi:10.22621/cfn.v128i1.1553 The Canadian Field-Naturalist; Vol. 128 No. 1 (2014); 72-76 0008-3550 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 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Peer-reviewed Short Article 2014 ftjcfn https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v128i1.1553 2021-09-02T18:54:31Z 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. Article in Journal/Newspaper Common Murre Newfoundland Uria aalge Uria lomvia Seal Island uria The Canadian Field-Naturalist (E-Journal) Canada Canada Bay ENVELOPE(-56.131,-56.131,50.717,50.717) Gull Island ENVELOPE(-55.315,-55.315,49.533,49.533) Newfoundland The Canadian Field-Naturalist 128 1 72 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The Canadian Field-Naturalist (E-Journal) |
op_collection_id |
ftjcfn |
language |
English |
topic |
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 |
spellingShingle |
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 Pirie-Hay, Donald W. Bond, Alexander L. Thickness of Common Murre (Uria aalge) eggshells in Atlantic Canada |
topic_facet |
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 |
description |
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. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Pirie-Hay, Donald W. Bond, Alexander L. |
author_facet |
Pirie-Hay, Donald W. Bond, Alexander L. |
author_sort |
Pirie-Hay, Donald W. |
title |
Thickness of Common Murre (Uria aalge) eggshells in Atlantic Canada |
title_short |
Thickness of Common Murre (Uria aalge) eggshells in Atlantic Canada |
title_full |
Thickness of Common Murre (Uria aalge) eggshells in Atlantic Canada |
title_fullStr |
Thickness of Common Murre (Uria aalge) eggshells in Atlantic Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Thickness of Common Murre (Uria aalge) eggshells in Atlantic Canada |
title_sort |
thickness of common murre (uria aalge) eggshells in atlantic canada |
publisher |
The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/1553 https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v128i1.1553 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-56.131,-56.131,50.717,50.717) ENVELOPE(-55.315,-55.315,49.533,49.533) |
geographic |
Canada Canada Bay Gull Island Newfoundland |
geographic_facet |
Canada Canada Bay Gull Island Newfoundland |
genre |
Common Murre Newfoundland Uria aalge Uria lomvia Seal Island uria |
genre_facet |
Common Murre Newfoundland Uria aalge Uria lomvia Seal Island uria |
op_source |
The Canadian Field-Naturalist; Vol. 128 No. 1 (2014); 72-76 0008-3550 |
op_relation |
https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/1553/1569 https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/1553 doi:10.22621/cfn.v128i1.1553 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v128i1.1553 |
container_title |
The Canadian Field-Naturalist |
container_volume |
128 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
72 |
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1766391512097095680 |