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Related Experiment Videos

Facultative placentotrophy: half-way house or strategic solution?

R Swain1, S M Jones

  • 1University of Tasmania, School of Zoology, Box 252C, GPO Hobart, 7001, Tasmania, Australia. roy.swain@utas.edu.au

Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Part A, Molecular & Integrative Physiology
|January 13, 2001
PubMed
Summary

Facultative placentotrophy in skinks like Niveoscincus metallicus enhances offspring fitness by optimizing fat reserves, not by compensating for yolk. This adaptation provides crucial nutritional flexibility in unpredictable environments.

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Area of Science:

  • Reproductive Biology
  • Evolutionary Ecology
  • Herpetology

Background:

  • Squamate reptiles primarily rely on yolk for embryonic nutrition.
  • Facultative placentotrophy, supplementing yolk with placental nourishment, is observed in numerous species.
  • This maternal investment strategy is hypothesized to significantly impact offspring fitness.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the selective importance and adaptive role of facultative placentotrophy in the skink Niveoscincus metallicus.
  • To determine the circumstances under which facultative placentotrophy is employed and its effect on offspring development.
  • To test the hypothesis that facultative placentotrophy optimizes embryonic fat reserves for survival.

Main Methods:

  • Comparing neonate size to maternal size and egg size in N. metallicus.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Experimentally manipulating clutch size via oviduct removal to assess resource allocation.
  • Varying maternal basking and food intake during gestation to study the influence on embryonic development.
  • Inducing premature ovulation with reduced yolk via FSH injection to assess compensatory mechanisms.

    • Main Results:

    • Larger females produced offspring exceeding survival needs, indicating facultative placentotrophy.
    • Clutch size reduction did not affect neonate mass or length, suggesting resources are allocated post-gestation initiation.
    • Maternal basking and feeding influenced embryonic fat reserves, supporting the optimization hypothesis.
    • Premature ovulation with reduced yolk resulted in significantly smaller, non-viable neonates, refuting yolk compensation.

    Conclusions:

    • Facultative placentotrophy in N. metallicus optimizes embryonic fat reserves, crucial for survival in short pre-hibernatory periods and adverse conditions.
    • This adaptation offers nutritional flexibility, enhancing offspring fitness in unpredictable temperate climates.
    • It represents a unique squamate adaptation, not a transitional stage towards obligate placentotrophy.