Effect of light intensity in the nest site on eggshell pigmentation in a hole-nesting passerine

Daylight is an important factor necessary for the proper embryonic development of birds, which raises the question, what happens when birds nest in relatively dim sites? The study experimentally tested whether there is a relationship between light conditions at the nesting site and the protoporphyri...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2023-06, Vol.13 (1), p.9764-9764, Article 9764
Main Authors: Malinowska, Katarzyna, Szala, Klaudia, Podkowa, Paweł, Surmacki, Adrian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
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631/158/857
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Birds
Egg shells
Eggs
Embryogenesis
Embryonic growth stage
Environmental control
Humanities and Social Sciences
Light intensity
multidisciplinary
Nest boxes
Nesting
Owls
Parus major
Pigmentation
Protoporphyrin
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
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Summary:Daylight is an important factor necessary for the proper embryonic development of birds, which raises the question, what happens when birds nest in relatively dim sites? The study experimentally tested whether there is a relationship between light conditions at the nesting site and the protoporphyrin-based pigmentation in the eggshell of the Great Tit ( Parus major ). We hypothesised that at lower light levels, eggs are less pigmented to increase the amount of light reaching the embryo. Our study system consisted of two types of nest boxes: "dark", in which the only source of light was the entrance hole, and "bright", which had two additional side windows. Photographs of clutches taken during the incubation period were used to quantify eggshell pigmentation. Multispectral image analyses were performed to measure variables correlating with protoporphyrin content, such as spot brightness, average spot size, spotting coverage, and spot red chroma. Repeatability analysis indicated that eggshell colouration characteristics were significantly and moderately repeatable between eggs from a single clutch, which suggests that they are under genetic and environmental control. However, none of the pigmentation traits differed significantly between the two types of nest boxes. We speculate about other ecological aspects that might have influenced the observed variability in eggshell pigmentation.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-023-36658-4