INCUBATION-TEMPERATURE OF THE PIGEON EMBRYO (COLUMBA-LIVIA)

This study compared the growth and development of pigeon embryos raise d in the nest under normal parental care to that of eggs from the same clutch incubated in an incubator. The average daily temperatures of b oth environments (nest and incubator) were the same, but the hourly av erage temperatures and patterns of temperature fluctuations of these e nvironments differed. Our results indicate that the small temperature fluctuations experienced by pigeon eggs in the nest under parental inc ubation may be the optimal thermal environment for in ovo growth and d evelopment. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.