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Low incubation temperature slows the development of cold tolerance in a precocial bird

Nord, Andreas LU and Nilsson, Jan Åke LU (2021) In The Journal of experimental biology 224.
Abstract

Incubating birds trade off self-maintenance for keeping eggs warm. This causes lower incubation temperature in more challenging conditions, with consequences for a range of offspring traits. It is not yet clear how low developmental temperature affects cold tolerance early in life. This is ecologically important because before full thermoregulatory capacity is attained, precocial chicks must switch between foraging and being brooded when their body temperature declines. Hence, we studied how cold tolerance during conditions similar to a feeding bout in the wild was affected by incubation temperature in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). Cold-incubated (35.5°C) chicks took the longest to develop, hatched at a smaller size, and remained... (More)

Incubating birds trade off self-maintenance for keeping eggs warm. This causes lower incubation temperature in more challenging conditions, with consequences for a range of offspring traits. It is not yet clear how low developmental temperature affects cold tolerance early in life. This is ecologically important because before full thermoregulatory capacity is attained, precocial chicks must switch between foraging and being brooded when their body temperature declines. Hence, we studied how cold tolerance during conditions similar to a feeding bout in the wild was affected by incubation temperature in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). Cold-incubated (35.5°C) chicks took the longest to develop, hatched at a smaller size, and remained smaller during their first week of life compared with chicks incubated at higher temperatures (37.0 and 38.5°C). This was reflected in increased cooling rate and reduced homeothermy, probably on account of reductions in both heat-producing capacity and insulation. Lower cold tolerance could exacerbate other temperature-linked phenotypic effects and, hence, also the trade-off between future and current reproduction from the perspective of the incubating parent.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Body temperature, Development, Endothermy, Heterothermy, Life history, Poultry, Thermoregulation
in
The Journal of experimental biology
volume
224
publisher
The Company of Biologists Ltd
external identifiers
  • pmid:33268533
  • scopus:85100070523
ISSN
1477-9145
DOI
10.1242/jeb.237743
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
086f5d6f-b147-43bb-8006-50d97ba62454
date added to LUP
2021-02-08 08:13:43
date last changed
2024-06-13 06:40:11
@article{086f5d6f-b147-43bb-8006-50d97ba62454,
  abstract     = {{<p>Incubating birds trade off self-maintenance for keeping eggs warm. This causes lower incubation temperature in more challenging conditions, with consequences for a range of offspring traits. It is not yet clear how low developmental temperature affects cold tolerance early in life. This is ecologically important because before full thermoregulatory capacity is attained, precocial chicks must switch between foraging and being brooded when their body temperature declines. Hence, we studied how cold tolerance during conditions similar to a feeding bout in the wild was affected by incubation temperature in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). Cold-incubated (35.5°C) chicks took the longest to develop, hatched at a smaller size, and remained smaller during their first week of life compared with chicks incubated at higher temperatures (37.0 and 38.5°C). This was reflected in increased cooling rate and reduced homeothermy, probably on account of reductions in both heat-producing capacity and insulation. Lower cold tolerance could exacerbate other temperature-linked phenotypic effects and, hence, also the trade-off between future and current reproduction from the perspective of the incubating parent.</p>}},
  author       = {{Nord, Andreas and Nilsson, Jan Åke}},
  issn         = {{1477-9145}},
  keywords     = {{Body temperature; Development; Endothermy; Heterothermy; Life history; Poultry; Thermoregulation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{The Company of Biologists Ltd}},
  series       = {{The Journal of experimental biology}},
  title        = {{Low incubation temperature slows the development of cold tolerance in a precocial bird}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.237743}},
  doi          = {{10.1242/jeb.237743}},
  volume       = {{224}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}