Inbreeding, which is the mating of related individuals, increases homozygosity and leads to depression, especially in traits with low heritability. In this study, parent-offspring, full-sibling half-sibling groups were formed their effects on embryo loss hatch weight investigated. a total 2130 fertile Japanese quail eggs used. Embryo losses divided into three periods; early period (first 5-day)...

In mammals, maternal food restriction around conception and during pregnancy results in low birth weight and an adjusted growth trajectory of offspring. If, subsequently, the offspring are born into a food-abundant environment, they are at increased risk of developing obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and renal dysfunction. Here, we show similar effects of maternal undernutrition on hatch ...

Identifying the sources of variation in traits of larvae is one of the first steps in interpreting the role of phenotypic variation in recruitment. We examined the contributions of geographic source and parentage to phenotypic variation in offspring traits in a gadid, Microgadus tomcod, from 2 contrasting yet nearby locations. Adults were collected from the Hudson River (HR), a polluted riverin...

The present study was aimed to investigate the mechanism underlying the influence of maternal low-protein (LP) diet on offspring growth in the chicken. One hundred and twenty Chinese inbred Langshan breeder hens were allocated randomly into two groups fed diets containing low (10%, LP) or normal (15%) crude protein levels. Low dietary protein did not affect the body weight of hens, but signific...

A 12-wk laying trial, using 240 hens and 24 cocks of 52-wk old Fayoumi chicken strain, was conducted to determine whether hatchability can be improved by dietary biotin supplementation during the late stages of egg production and to study its effect on progeny performance. Birds were divided into 4 equal groups of 6 replicates each. A corn-soybean meal basal layer diet was formulated to contain...

We conducted two separate tests to evaluate the influence of several factors that could affect estimation and interpretation of effects on reproductive output of Chironomus tentans in sediment toxicity tests. Specifically, the influence of adult size, mating frequency in males (male), and age of both males and females (female) at first mating on mating success (number of successful matings), fe...

Background: Interactions between inbreeding and maternal effects have received little attention, and the effect of maternal age on inbreeding depression in offspring has been almost entirely neglected. Maternal age affects allocation of resources and other materials to offspring, which can affect the fitness consequences of inbreeding. An interaction between inbreeding and maternal age thus has...

The response of laying Japanese quails to dietary levels of energy and protein on performance, egg quality, hatchability, fertility and their effect on subsequent offspring live body weight was investigated. A total of 432 Japanese quails (13 weeks old) were divided into nine treatments. Each treatment comprised of four replicates of twelve birds (9 females and 3 males). Nine diets including th...

This research determined the potential for methylmercury or Aroclor 1268 to disrupt reproduction and sexual differentiation in Fundulus heteroclitus. The research determined whether fish that are exposed to mercury or Aroclor 1268 survive and successfully reproduce; whether offspring of exposed fish hatch, survive, produce eggs, and fertilize them; and whether the second-generation offspring of...