Egg laying and incubation rhythm of the Chinese Grouse (Tetrastes sewerzowi) at Lianhuashan, Gansu, China
Abstract Background Incubating birds must balance the conflict between thermal needs of the developing embryos and their self-maintenance needs for energy. The Chinese Grouse (Tetrastes sewerzowi) lives in high mountain conifer forests and faces energy stress, cold environment, and predation pressur...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
2019-06-01
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| Series: | Avian Research |
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| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40657-019-0161-x |
| _version_ | 1797966076665921536 |
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| author | Mei Shi Yun Fang Jin-ming Zhao Siegfried Klaus Yingxin Jiang Jon E. Swenson Yue-Hua Sun |
| author_facet | Mei Shi Yun Fang Jin-ming Zhao Siegfried Klaus Yingxin Jiang Jon E. Swenson Yue-Hua Sun |
| author_sort | Mei Shi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Incubating birds must balance the conflict between thermal needs of the developing embryos and their self-maintenance needs for energy. The Chinese Grouse (Tetrastes sewerzowi) lives in high mountain conifer forests and faces energy stress, cold environment, and predation pressure. Females might adjust incubation rhythm to adapt to these constraints. Methods Two methods were used to investigate egg laying and incubation pattern of the Chinese Grouse; 25 nests were monitored by data loggers and 12 nests by infrared video cameras. Results Female Chinese Grouses usually laid an egg every 2 days. The incubation period was 28–31 days. Overall incubation constancy for Chinese Grouse was 93%. The females took 5.0 recesses per day and 34% of all 1696 recesses were taken in the crepuscular period. The average recess duration was 20.3 min. Females took more and shorter recesses in the latter part of incubation. The females who allocated more time to foraging had a higher reproductive success. Conclusions Probably due to its high egg/body mass ratio, the Chinese Grouse has a long laying interval of 49 h. We suggest that, due to energy stress, females have relatively more recesses and they increase the number of recesses as incubation progresses. To compensate for the embryos’ thermal needs, they extend the incubation period and shorten the recess duration in this cold environment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T02:08:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e72ca27e9e3d4d8ca55732895f195b92 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2053-7166 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T02:08:58Z |
| publishDate | 2019-06-01 |
| publisher | KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Avian Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-e72ca27e9e3d4d8ca55732895f195b922023-01-03T02:33:41ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Avian Research2053-71662019-06-011011910.1186/s40657-019-0161-xEgg laying and incubation rhythm of the Chinese Grouse (Tetrastes sewerzowi) at Lianhuashan, Gansu, ChinaMei Shi0Yun Fang1Jin-ming Zhao2Siegfried KlausYingxin Jiang3Jon E. Swenson4Yue-Hua Sun5Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesSchool of Life Science, Huaibei Normal UniversityKey Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesFaculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life SciencesKey Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesAbstract Background Incubating birds must balance the conflict between thermal needs of the developing embryos and their self-maintenance needs for energy. The Chinese Grouse (Tetrastes sewerzowi) lives in high mountain conifer forests and faces energy stress, cold environment, and predation pressure. Females might adjust incubation rhythm to adapt to these constraints. Methods Two methods were used to investigate egg laying and incubation pattern of the Chinese Grouse; 25 nests were monitored by data loggers and 12 nests by infrared video cameras. Results Female Chinese Grouses usually laid an egg every 2 days. The incubation period was 28–31 days. Overall incubation constancy for Chinese Grouse was 93%. The females took 5.0 recesses per day and 34% of all 1696 recesses were taken in the crepuscular period. The average recess duration was 20.3 min. Females took more and shorter recesses in the latter part of incubation. The females who allocated more time to foraging had a higher reproductive success. Conclusions Probably due to its high egg/body mass ratio, the Chinese Grouse has a long laying interval of 49 h. We suggest that, due to energy stress, females have relatively more recesses and they increase the number of recesses as incubation progresses. To compensate for the embryos’ thermal needs, they extend the incubation period and shorten the recess duration in this cold environment.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40657-019-0161-xBody massChinese GrouseEnvironment temperatureIncubation patternNest attentiveness |
| spellingShingle | Mei Shi Yun Fang Jin-ming Zhao Siegfried Klaus Yingxin Jiang Jon E. Swenson Yue-Hua Sun Egg laying and incubation rhythm of the Chinese Grouse (Tetrastes sewerzowi) at Lianhuashan, Gansu, China Avian Research Body mass Chinese Grouse Environment temperature Incubation pattern Nest attentiveness |
| title | Egg laying and incubation rhythm of the Chinese Grouse (Tetrastes sewerzowi) at Lianhuashan, Gansu, China |
| title_full | Egg laying and incubation rhythm of the Chinese Grouse (Tetrastes sewerzowi) at Lianhuashan, Gansu, China |
| title_fullStr | Egg laying and incubation rhythm of the Chinese Grouse (Tetrastes sewerzowi) at Lianhuashan, Gansu, China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Egg laying and incubation rhythm of the Chinese Grouse (Tetrastes sewerzowi) at Lianhuashan, Gansu, China |
| title_short | Egg laying and incubation rhythm of the Chinese Grouse (Tetrastes sewerzowi) at Lianhuashan, Gansu, China |
| title_sort | egg laying and incubation rhythm of the chinese grouse tetrastes sewerzowi at lianhuashan gansu china |
| topic | Body mass Chinese Grouse Environment temperature Incubation pattern Nest attentiveness |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40657-019-0161-x |
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