
Henrik Smith
Professor

Adaptive significance of egg size in the European Starling: experimental tests
Författare
Summary, in English
Reproductive success in relation to egg size was studied in European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) by swapping whole clutches between nests at the start of the incubation period. Egg size did not reflect parental quality as no measure of reproductive success was correlated with the foster mothers' mean egg size. There was a significant positive relationship between the mean size of the cross-fostered eggs and the subsequent mean size of hatchlings. The mean size of cross-fostered eggs did not affect hatching success or nestling growth rates, and initial nestling size differences between broods with large and small eggs persisted for <1 wk. No effect of mean egg size on mean nestling survival could be detected. Furthermore, a partial cross-fostering experiment, where nestlings were swapped between nests the day after hatching, failed to demonstrate any lasting effect of egg size on nestling size. It is suggested that mean egg size may only influence reproductive success during particularly inferior environmental conditions
Avdelning/ar
- Biodiversitet
- Biodiversitet och bevarandevetenskap
Publiceringsår
1995
Språk
Engelska
Sidor
1-7
Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie
Ecology
Volym
76
Dokumenttyp
Artikel i tidskrift
Förlag
Ecological Society of America
Ämne
- Ecology
Status
Published
Forskningsgrupp
- Biodiversity and Conservation Science
ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt
- ISSN: 0012-9658