Abstract
The content of common eider (Somateria mollissima) eggs was studied in the colony on the Dutch island of Vlieland for 3 years. Mean wet mass was 108 g: ca. 9% shell, ca. 45% albumen, and ca. 45% yolk. Mean dry density (g∙cm−3) was 0.086 for shell, 0.069 for albumen, 0.094 for lean yolk, and 0.169 for yolk lipids. The average energy value of the egg content was estimated at 10.45 kJ∙cm−3, and 1087 kJ for the content of an average egg with a volume of 104 cm3. The average energy value of the shell membranes amounted to 15 kJ. The most common clutch size is 5 eggs, which means that, on average, 5510 kJ is directly invested in a clutch. Corrected for volume, total dry mass and dry mass of lean yolk, albumen, and fat differed among females. Corrected for volume, lean yolk mass decreased with clutch size; other components were not involved. This induced an increase in the ratio of lipid in the yolk to lean yolk with clutch size. Within a clutch, dry mass of the components varied isometrically with egg volume. Egg volume varies according to the laying sequence, those laid in the middle of the sequence being largest. Therefore, the amount of energy allocated to individual eggs in a clutch varies according to the same curvilinear relationship.
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