Ecological importance of the thermal emissivity of avian eggshells

Summary, in English

Breeding birds have to divide their time between egg incubation and foraging. Particularly in cases when only one parent incubates the eggs, and especially in cold climates, the cooling of the eggs during absence from the nest may be problematic. In the present study we find that the thermal emissivity of eggshells may be ecologically important, and that an evolutionary pressure towards lower emissivity for exposed eggs in cold climates exists. We plan to experimentally compare emissivities among species in a future study. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

• Författare: Lars Olof Björn; Per Uvdal; Shaoshan Li
• Avdelning/ar: Molekylär cellbiologi
• Publiceringsår: 2012
• Språk: Engelska
• Sidor: 62-66
• Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie: Journal of Theoretical Biology
• Volym: 301
• Länkar: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2012.02.011
• Dokumenttyp: Artikel i tidskrift
• Förlag: Academic Press
• Ämne: Biological Sciences
• Nyckelord: Bird; Egg temperature; Heat radiation; Incubation; Thermal heat; dissipation
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt: ISSN: 1095-8541