Nutrition of the developing embryo and hatchling.

The Roles of Reactive Oxygen Species and Nitric Oxide in Perfluorooctanoic Acid-Induced Developmental Cardiotoxicity and l-Carnitine Mediated Protection

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is an environmental contaminant that could induce developmental cardiotoxicity in a chicken embryo, which may be alleviated by l-carnitine. To explore the roles of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) in such changes and the potential effects of l-carnitine, fertile chicken eggs were exposed to PFOA via an air cell injection, with or without l-carnit...

Myth busting? Effects of embryo positioning and egg turning on hatching success in the water snake Natrix maura

It is a common belief that reptile eggs should not be turned after oviposition once the embryo has attached itself to the inner membrane of the shell as it might kill developing embryos. Here, we used 338 eggs from 32 clutches of the water snake Natrix maura to (1) thoroughly describe natural clutch arrangement, (2) experimentally assess the effects of natural embryo positioning and (3) egg tur...

Parental Investment, Embryo Growth, and Hatchling Lipid Reserves in Softshell Turtles (apalone Mutica) from Arkansas

The smooth softshell Apalone mutica is a North American trionychid turtle typically found in moderate to fast moving rivers and streams. Such habitats contrast with more resource rich environments (e.g., marshes and swamps) inhabited by other turtle species for which parental investment and egg and hatchling components have been studied. We measured components of eggs, embryos, and hatchlings a...

Thermal tolerances of sea turtle embryos: current understanding and future directions

Developing sea turtle embryos only successfully hatch within a relatively narrow temperature range, rendering this immobile life stage vulnerable to the vagaries of climate change. To accurately predict the potential impact of climate change on sea turtle egg mortality, we need to fully understand the thermal tolerance of developing embryos. We reviewed the literature on this topic, and found t...

Comparison of the serum Protein fractions of the developing chickens embryo by the technique of Starch-gel Electrophoresis

Maternal effects of egg size on emu Dromaius novaehollandiae egg composition and hatchling phenotype.

Parental investment in eggs and, consequently, in offspring can profoundly influence the phenotype, survival and ultimately evolutionary fitness of an organism. Avian eggs are excellent model systems to examine maternal allocation of energy translated through egg size variation. We used the natural range in emu Dromaius novaehollandiae egg size, from 400 g to >700 g, to examine the influence of...