Effects of parental and own early developmental conditions on the phenotype
in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata)
E. Tobias Krause, Marc Naguib
Electronic Supplement S1- Further information on the parental birds.
28 parent zebra finch pairs (28 males and 28 females) bred successful and produced
independent offspring. The parents of these 28 successful broods were all first time
breeder and had an average age of 355 days ± 4.5 days SE when the breeding
attempt started.
In total the 28 pairs laid 161 eggs, however, the number of eggs did not differ
between the nutritional treatments the parents had received during their early
development (mean clutch size HQ pairs = 5.8 ± 1.2; mean clutch size LQ pairs =5.7
± 1.3; t-test, NHQ-pairs=10, NLQ-pairs=18;t=-0.16, p=0.88). From these eggs in total 112
hatched but the number of hatchlings did not differ between breeding pairs coming
from the two early nutritional treatments (mean number of hatchlings HQ pairs = 4.2
± 1.3 mean number of hatchlings LQ pairs = 3.7 ± 1.3; t-test, NHQ-pairs=10, NLQpairs=18;
t=0.9, p=0.38).
Before the nutritional treatments for the offspring (offspring treatment) started (at day
3 of the oldest chick in the brood), 20 hatchlings died, (19 of the 20, where the first
hatched individuals in the brood). Pre-treatment brood survival, i.e. until day 3 when
offspring's nutritional treatment started, did not differ with respect to the parental
nutritional treatment (mean survival from hatching (offspring's day 0-day 3) in
parental HQ pairs = 0.81 ± 0.22 and parental LQ pairs= 0.81 ± 0.22; GLMbinomial:
parental treatment: Z1,26=-0.41, p=0.69).
At the beginning of the breeding attempt, body mass did not differ between parents
that were raised under low or high quality nutritional conditions (mean mass, parental
HQ bird: 12.24g ± 0.25g SE; parental LQ birds: 11.72g ± 0.13g SE; LME factor
parental treatment F1,34=3.90, p=0.06). The parental tarsi differed in length with
respect to their early nutritional conditions (mean tarsus length, parental HQ bird:
13.94mm ± 0.08 SE; parental LQ birds: 13.45mm ± 0.11mm SE; LME factor parental
treatment F1,34=8.03, p=0.008). Sex had no effect on both biometric measures.