Maternal androgens in black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus) eggs: consequences for chick development.
We tested the hypothesis that mother birds counterbalance the negative effects of hatching asynchrony for later-hatched chicks by increasing the yolk androgen concentrations in consecutive eggs of their clutch. In doing so, they may adaptively tune each offspring's competitive ability and, thus...
Published in: | Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2001
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1088678 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11345330 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2001.1594 |
id |
ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:1088678 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:1088678 2023-05-15T18:49:34+02:00 Maternal androgens in black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus) eggs: consequences for chick development. Eising, C. M. Eikenaar, C. Schwabl, H. Groothuis, T. G. 2001-04-22 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1088678 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11345330 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2001.1594 en eng http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1088678 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11345330 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2001.1594 Article Text 2001 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2001.1594 2013-08-30T08:44:00Z We tested the hypothesis that mother birds counterbalance the negative effects of hatching asynchrony for later-hatched chicks by increasing the yolk androgen concentrations in consecutive eggs of their clutch. In doing so, they may adaptively tune each offspring's competitive ability and, thus, growth and survival. However, evidence in support of this hypothesis is contradictory. The yolk concentrations of maternal androgens in the eggs of black-headed gulls increase significantly with the laying order of the eggs in a clutch. We experimentally tested the functional consequences of this increase on chick development under natural conditions by injecting eggs with either an oil or androgen solution. We created experimental clutches in which androgen levels either stayed constant or increased with laying order while controlling for differences in egg quality by using only first-laid eggs. We then compared development, growth and survival between these broods. Androgen treatment enhanced embryonic development because androgen-treated eggs hatched half a day earlier than controls, while their size at hatching was similar to oil-treated controls. Androgen treatment did not increase chick survival, but it enhanced growth. Androgen-treated, third-hatched chicks had a higher body mass and longer legs than third-hatched chicks that hatched from oil-treated eggs. At the same time, growth of first chicks (which were all oil treated) was reduced by the presence of two androgen-treated siblings, suggesting that yolk androgens enhance the competitive ability of later-hatched chicks. Our results support the hypothesis that transfer of different amounts of androgens to the eggs of a clutch is a mechanism by which mothers maximize their reproductive output. Text Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus PubMed Central (PMC) Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences 268 1469 839 846 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
PubMed Central (PMC) |
op_collection_id |
ftpubmed |
language |
English |
topic |
Article |
spellingShingle |
Article Eising, C. M. Eikenaar, C. Schwabl, H. Groothuis, T. G. Maternal androgens in black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus) eggs: consequences for chick development. |
topic_facet |
Article |
description |
We tested the hypothesis that mother birds counterbalance the negative effects of hatching asynchrony for later-hatched chicks by increasing the yolk androgen concentrations in consecutive eggs of their clutch. In doing so, they may adaptively tune each offspring's competitive ability and, thus, growth and survival. However, evidence in support of this hypothesis is contradictory. The yolk concentrations of maternal androgens in the eggs of black-headed gulls increase significantly with the laying order of the eggs in a clutch. We experimentally tested the functional consequences of this increase on chick development under natural conditions by injecting eggs with either an oil or androgen solution. We created experimental clutches in which androgen levels either stayed constant or increased with laying order while controlling for differences in egg quality by using only first-laid eggs. We then compared development, growth and survival between these broods. Androgen treatment enhanced embryonic development because androgen-treated eggs hatched half a day earlier than controls, while their size at hatching was similar to oil-treated controls. Androgen treatment did not increase chick survival, but it enhanced growth. Androgen-treated, third-hatched chicks had a higher body mass and longer legs than third-hatched chicks that hatched from oil-treated eggs. At the same time, growth of first chicks (which were all oil treated) was reduced by the presence of two androgen-treated siblings, suggesting that yolk androgens enhance the competitive ability of later-hatched chicks. Our results support the hypothesis that transfer of different amounts of androgens to the eggs of a clutch is a mechanism by which mothers maximize their reproductive output. |
format |
Text |
author |
Eising, C. M. Eikenaar, C. Schwabl, H. Groothuis, T. G. |
author_facet |
Eising, C. M. Eikenaar, C. Schwabl, H. Groothuis, T. G. |
author_sort |
Eising, C. M. |
title |
Maternal androgens in black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus) eggs: consequences for chick development. |
title_short |
Maternal androgens in black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus) eggs: consequences for chick development. |
title_full |
Maternal androgens in black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus) eggs: consequences for chick development. |
title_fullStr |
Maternal androgens in black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus) eggs: consequences for chick development. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Maternal androgens in black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus) eggs: consequences for chick development. |
title_sort |
maternal androgens in black-headed gull (larus ridibundus) eggs: consequences for chick development. |
publishDate |
2001 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1088678 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11345330 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2001.1594 |
genre |
Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus |
genre_facet |
Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1088678 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11345330 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2001.1594 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2001.1594 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences |
container_volume |
268 |
container_issue |
1469 |
container_start_page |
839 |
op_container_end_page |
846 |
_version_ |
1766243168500580352 |