A carryover effect of migration underlies individual variation in reproductive readiness and extreme egg size dimorphism in Macaroni Penguins
Where life-history stages overlap, there is the potential for physiological conflicts that might be important in mediating carryover effects. However, our knowledge of the specific physiological mechanisms underlying carryover effects remains rudimentary, and specific examples remain rare. Here we s...
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University of Chicago Press
2010
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:10819 2023-05-15T16:08:22+02:00 A carryover effect of migration underlies individual variation in reproductive readiness and extreme egg size dimorphism in Macaroni Penguins Crossin, Glenn T. Trathan, Phil N. Phillips, Richard A. Dawson, Alistair Le Bouard, Fabrice Williams, Tony D. 2010 http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/10819/ unknown University of Chicago Press Crossin, Glenn T.; Trathan, Phil N. orcid:0000-0001-6673-9930 Phillips, Richard A.; Dawson, Alistair; Le Bouard, Fabrice; Williams, Tony D. 2010 A carryover effect of migration underlies individual variation in reproductive readiness and extreme egg size dimorphism in Macaroni Penguins. American Naturalist, 176 (3). 357-366. https://doi.org/10.1086/655223 <https://doi.org/10.1086/655223> Marine Sciences Biology and Microbiology Zoology Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2010 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1086/655223 2023-02-04T19:26:58Z Where life-history stages overlap, there is the potential for physiological conflicts that might be important in mediating carryover effects. However, our knowledge of the specific physiological mechanisms underlying carryover effects remains rudimentary, and specific examples remain rare. Here we show that female macaroni penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus) initiate vitellogenesis and yolk formation while at sea during return migrations to breeding colonies; yolk formation takes approximately 16 days, but females lay only 7-14 days after their return. Once on land, Eudyptes penguins show a unique reproductive pattern of extreme egg size dimorphism in which the smaller, first-laid A-egg is 55%-75% of the size of the larger B-egg. We show that the degree of egg size dimorphism is inversely correlated with time between arrival and laying; that is, females that begin reproductive development well in advance of their return produce more dimorphic eggs. Furthermore, late-arriving females that produce the most dimorphic eggs have lower plasma levels of the yolk precursor vitellogenin on arrival; that is, they show lower reproductive "readiness." These data support the hypothesis that extreme egg size dimorphism in Eudyptes penguins is due to a physiological constraint imposed by a migratory carryover effect and argue against small A-eggs having a specific, adaptive function. Article in Journal/Newspaper Eudyptes chrysolophus Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive The American Naturalist 176 3 357 366 |
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Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
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unknown |
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Marine Sciences Biology and Microbiology Zoology |
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Marine Sciences Biology and Microbiology Zoology Crossin, Glenn T. Trathan, Phil N. Phillips, Richard A. Dawson, Alistair Le Bouard, Fabrice Williams, Tony D. A carryover effect of migration underlies individual variation in reproductive readiness and extreme egg size dimorphism in Macaroni Penguins |
topic_facet |
Marine Sciences Biology and Microbiology Zoology |
description |
Where life-history stages overlap, there is the potential for physiological conflicts that might be important in mediating carryover effects. However, our knowledge of the specific physiological mechanisms underlying carryover effects remains rudimentary, and specific examples remain rare. Here we show that female macaroni penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus) initiate vitellogenesis and yolk formation while at sea during return migrations to breeding colonies; yolk formation takes approximately 16 days, but females lay only 7-14 days after their return. Once on land, Eudyptes penguins show a unique reproductive pattern of extreme egg size dimorphism in which the smaller, first-laid A-egg is 55%-75% of the size of the larger B-egg. We show that the degree of egg size dimorphism is inversely correlated with time between arrival and laying; that is, females that begin reproductive development well in advance of their return produce more dimorphic eggs. Furthermore, late-arriving females that produce the most dimorphic eggs have lower plasma levels of the yolk precursor vitellogenin on arrival; that is, they show lower reproductive "readiness." These data support the hypothesis that extreme egg size dimorphism in Eudyptes penguins is due to a physiological constraint imposed by a migratory carryover effect and argue against small A-eggs having a specific, adaptive function. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Crossin, Glenn T. Trathan, Phil N. Phillips, Richard A. Dawson, Alistair Le Bouard, Fabrice Williams, Tony D. |
author_facet |
Crossin, Glenn T. Trathan, Phil N. Phillips, Richard A. Dawson, Alistair Le Bouard, Fabrice Williams, Tony D. |
author_sort |
Crossin, Glenn T. |
title |
A carryover effect of migration underlies individual variation in reproductive readiness and extreme egg size dimorphism in Macaroni Penguins |
title_short |
A carryover effect of migration underlies individual variation in reproductive readiness and extreme egg size dimorphism in Macaroni Penguins |
title_full |
A carryover effect of migration underlies individual variation in reproductive readiness and extreme egg size dimorphism in Macaroni Penguins |
title_fullStr |
A carryover effect of migration underlies individual variation in reproductive readiness and extreme egg size dimorphism in Macaroni Penguins |
title_full_unstemmed |
A carryover effect of migration underlies individual variation in reproductive readiness and extreme egg size dimorphism in Macaroni Penguins |
title_sort |
carryover effect of migration underlies individual variation in reproductive readiness and extreme egg size dimorphism in macaroni penguins |
publisher |
University of Chicago Press |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/10819/ |
genre |
Eudyptes chrysolophus |
genre_facet |
Eudyptes chrysolophus |
op_relation |
Crossin, Glenn T.; Trathan, Phil N. orcid:0000-0001-6673-9930 Phillips, Richard A.; Dawson, Alistair; Le Bouard, Fabrice; Williams, Tony D. 2010 A carryover effect of migration underlies individual variation in reproductive readiness and extreme egg size dimorphism in Macaroni Penguins. American Naturalist, 176 (3). 357-366. https://doi.org/10.1086/655223 <https://doi.org/10.1086/655223> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1086/655223 |
container_title |
The American Naturalist |
container_volume |
176 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
357 |
op_container_end_page |
366 |
_version_ |
1766404429825703936 |