Incubation temperature causes skewed sex ratios in a precocial bird

Sarah E. DuRant, William A. Hopkins, Amanda W. Carter, Laila T. Kirkpatrick, Kristin J. Navara, Dana M. Hawley

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Scopus citations

Abstract

Many animals with genetic sex determination are nonetheless capable of manipulating sex ratios via behavioral and physiological means, which can sometimes result in fitness benefits to the parent. Sex ratio manipulation in birds is not widely documented, and revealing the mechanisms for altered sex ratios in vertebrates remains a compelling area of research. Incubation temperature is a key component of the developmental environment for birds, but despite its well-documented effects on offspring phenotype it has rarely been considered as a factor in avian sex ratios. Using ecologically relevant manipulations of incubation temperature within the range 35.0-37.0°C, we found greater mortality of female embryos during incubation than males regardless of incubation temperature, and evidence that more female than male embryos die at the lowest incubation temperature (35.0°C). Our findings in conjunction with previous work in brush turkeys suggest incubation temperature is an important determinant of avian secondary sex ratios that requires additional study, and should be considered when estimating the impact of climate change on avian populations.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1961-1964
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Experimental Biology
Volume219
Issue number13
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1 2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Incubation
  • Parental effects
  • Secondary sex ratio
  • Wood duck

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Physiology
  • Aquatic Science
  • Animal Science and Zoology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Insect Science

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