Embryonic oxygen consumption and growth of Laysan and black-footed albatross

Abstract

The constraints placed on diffusive gas exchange by the eggshell and the adaptive features of embryonic respiration and metabolism in large Laysan and black-footed albatross eggs (300 g) during prolonged incubation (65 days) were examined in naturally incubated eggs on Sand Island, Midway, in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. A low eggshell gas conductance and slow growth rate were associated with a relatively low oxygen consumption (MO2) throughout incubation. Just prior to internal pipping (IP) of the inner shell membrane and penetration of the air space, the MO2 (pre-IP MO2) was approximately 1,250 ml O2 (STPD).day-1 for both species, resulting in air cell O2 and CO2 tensions of 106 and 40 Torr, respectively. During the 4- to 5-day pipping-to-hatching interval, O2 uptake increases rapidly as pulmonary respiration is initiated. Hatchling O2 consumption averaged 3,700 ml O2 (STPD).day-1 or about three times the pre-IP MO2. Data support the hypothesis that embryonic metabolism among Procellariiformes is related to the extent to which the incubation period deviates from the expected value based on initial egg mass.