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Temperature-dependent sex-biased embryo mortality in a bird
Yvonne A Eiby1, Jessica Worthington Wilmer, David T Booth
1School of Integrative Biology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia. y.eiby@uq.edu.au
Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|August 30, 2008
Summary
Incubation temperature influences Australian brush-turkey sex ratios. Higher temperatures yield more females, while lower temperatures produce more males due to sex-specific embryo mortality.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Animal Behavior
- Avian Ecology
Background:
- Sex ratios have significant evolutionary impacts and are influenced by environmental factors.
- Temperature-dependent sex determination is common in reptiles but rarely studied in birds and mammals.
- Australian brush-turkeys (Alectura lathami) exhibit temperature-dependent sex ratios, with females at high and males at low incubation temperatures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the underlying mechanism of temperature-dependent sex-biasing in Australian brush-turkeys.
- To determine if sex-biased embryo mortality contributes to altered sex ratios.
- To explore the implications for sex allocation theory in birds.
Main Methods:
- Molecular sexing of Australian brush-turkey embryos and chicks.
- Analysis of embryo mortality rates at varying incubation temperatures.
- Comparison of mortality rates between male and female embryos across the temperature spectrum.
Main Results:
- Confirmed temperature-dependent sex-biased embryo mortality as the mechanism for altered sex ratios.
- Higher incubation temperatures resulted in greater male embryo mortality.
- Lower incubation temperatures led to increased female embryo mortality, with similar mortality for both sexes at intermediate temperatures.
Conclusions:
- Temperature-dependent sex-biased embryo mortality is a novel mechanism for sex ratio alteration in birds.
- This finding provides a unique model for studying sex allocation theory in avian species.
- The Australian brush-turkey's unique breeding biology enhances its value for such research.
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