Respiratory Gas Exchange and Growth of Bonin Petrel Embryos

Abstract

The constraints placed upon diffusive gas exchange by the eggshell, and parameters of embryonic respiration were examined in naturally incubated eggs of the Bonin petrel on Sand Island, Midway. The incubation period of the Bonin petrel egg was 49 days, or 184% of the predicted value based on egg mass; this is relatively longer than in larger members of the order. A low eggshell gas conductance was matched by a low egg O₂ uptake (\documentclass{aastex} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{bm} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{pifont} \usepackage{stmaryrd} \usepackage{textcomp} \usepackage{portland,xspace} \usepackage{amsmath,amsxtra} \usepackage{wasysym} \pagestyle{empty} \DeclareMathSizes{10}{9}{7}{6} \begin{document}${\mathrm{\dot{M}_{O_{2}}}}$\end{document}), resulting in air cell gas tensions (\documentclass{aastex} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{bm} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{pifont} \usepackage{stmaryrd} \usepack...