The effects of incubation temperature on the morphology and composition of Australian Brush-turkey (Alectura lathami) chicks.

Environmental heterogeneity during embryonic development generates an important source of variation in offspring phenotypes and can influence the evolution of life histories. The effects of incubation temperature on offspring phenotypes in reptiles has been well documented but remains relatively unexplored in birds as their embryos typically develop over a narrow range of temperatures. Megapode birds (Order Galliformes; Family Megapodiidae) are unique in that their embryos tolerate and develop over a wide range of incubation temperatures, yet little is known of the effect that temperature has on hatchling morphology and composition. Australian Brush-turkey eggs collected on the day of laying were incubated in the laboratory under constant temperatures of 32, 34 and 36 degrees C until hatching in order to determine the influence of temperature on hatchling mass, size and composition. The dry mass of the yolk-free body and residual yolk of hatchlings were temperature dependent, such that higher temperatures produced chicks of lesser yolk-free body mass and greater residual yolk mass than chicks incubated at lower temperatures. However the overall size (linear dimensions) and lipid, protein and ash content of chicks were independent of temperature.