{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/110759"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/110759","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"Incubation behavior, embryonic heart rate, and developmental variation within and among altricial bird species","abstract":"The incubation period of an egg is a critical stage that has multiple implications in subsequent life stages, therefore understanding the processes within the egg during the incubation period are important for a broader understanding of avian development and life history strategies. I examined embryonic heart rate (EHR) within 14 sympatrically breeding grassland and shrubland bird species in east-central Illinois from April to August of 2019 and 2020. Specifically, I aimed to investigate 1) the factors that impact EHR across species, 2) how parental incubation behaviors impact EHR, 3) rates of hatching failure across species, and 4) the factors that drive variation in hatching failure across species. EHR was positively related to both the age of the embryo, as well as egg temperature. Additionally, EHR increased as the breeding season progressed and was negatively associated with clutch size. The EHR across the incubation period were similar across focal species, however, the two cavity nesting species, Eastern Bluebirds (Sialis sialis) and Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), exhibited lower EHR than the other species, while Dickcissels (Spiza americana) exhibited higher EHR than other species. Eastern Bluebirds also displayed greater nest temperature variation and a lower percent of time on the nest. Hatching failure was more common in cavity nesting species and nests with greater clutch sizes. A majority of embryonic death occurred before or shortly after the onset of incubation. The high rates of embryonic death in large clutches and early stages suggest the rates of mortality may be due to the delayed onset of incubation or the inability of females to adequately incubate large clutches. Overall, differences in life-history strategies across species may lead to differences in EHR and hatching failure.","abstract_html":"The incubation period of an egg is a critical stage that has multiple implications in subsequent life stages, therefore understanding the processes within the egg during the incubation period are important for a broader understanding of avian development and life history strategies. I examined embryonic heart rate (EHR) within 14 sympatrically breeding grassland and shrubland bird species in east-central Illinois from April to August of 2019 and 2020. Specifically, I aimed to investigate 1) the factors that impact EHR across species, 2) how parental incubation behaviors impact EHR, 3) rates of hatching failure across species, and 4) the factors that drive variation in hatching failure across species. EHR was positively related to both the age of the embryo, as well as egg temperature. Additionally, EHR increased as the breeding season progressed and was negatively associated with clutch size. The EHR across the incubation period were similar across focal species, however, the two cavity nesting species, Eastern Bluebirds (Sialis sialis) and Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), exhibited lower EHR than the other species, while Dickcissels (Spiza americana) exhibited higher EHR than other species. Eastern Bluebirds also displayed greater nest temperature variation and a lower percent of time on the nest. Hatching failure was more common in cavity nesting species and nests with greater clutch sizes. A majority of embryonic death occurred before or shortly after the onset of incubation. The high rates of embryonic death in large clutches and early stages suggest the rates of mortality may be due to the delayed onset of incubation or the inability of females to adequately incubate large clutches. Overall, differences in life-history strategies across species may lead to differences in EHR and hatching failure.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Di Giovanni, Alexander Jacob"],"institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"M.S.","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Natural Res & Env Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Ward, Michael P","Hauber, Mark E","Brawn, Jeffery D","Benson, Thomas J"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-09-17T02:34:51Z","date_published":"2021-09-17T02:34:51Z","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:52Z","subjects":["avian embryonic heart rate","bird parental care","incubation behavior","hatching failure","embryonic mortality","embryonic development"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["© 2021 Alexander Jacob Di Giovanni"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/2142/110759","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Ward, Michael P","Hauber, Mark E","Brawn, Jeffery D","Benson, Thomas J"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Di Giovanni, Alexander Jacob"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2021-09-17T02:34:51Z","2023-09-17T02:34:57Z","2021-04-30","2021-05"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text","Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Natural Res & Env Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.S."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["avian embryonic heart rate","bird parental care","incubation behavior","hatching failure","embryonic mortality","embryonic development"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© 2021 Alexander Jacob Di Giovanni"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/2142/110759"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["The incubation period of an egg is a critical stage that has multiple implications in subsequent life stages, therefore understanding the processes within the egg during the incubation period are important for a broader understanding of avian development and life history strategies. I examined embryonic heart rate (EHR) within 14 sympatrically breeding grassland and shrubland bird species in east-central Illinois from April to August of 2019 and 2020. Specifically, I aimed to investigate 1) the factors that impact EHR across species, 2) how parental incubation behaviors impact EHR, 3) rates of hatching failure across species, and 4) the factors that drive variation in hatching failure across species. EHR was positively related to both the age of the embryo, as well as egg temperature. Additionally, EHR increased as the breeding season progressed and was negatively associated with clutch size. The EHR across the incubation period were similar across focal species, however, the two cavity nesting species, Eastern Bluebirds (Sialis sialis) and Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), exhibited lower EHR than the other species, while Dickcissels (Spiza americana) exhibited higher EHR than other species. Eastern Bluebirds also displayed greater nest temperature variation and a lower percent of time on the nest. Hatching failure was more common in cavity nesting species and nests with greater clutch sizes. A majority of embryonic death occurred before or shortly after the onset of incubation. The high rates of embryonic death in large clutches and early stages suggest the rates of mortality may be due to the delayed onset of incubation or the inability of females to adequately incubate large clutches. Overall, differences in life-history strategies across species may lead to differences in EHR and hatching failure.","Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2023-05-01","The student, Alexander Di Giovanni, accepted the attached license on 2021-04-30 at 12:06.","The student, Alexander Di Giovanni, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2021-04-30 at 12:14.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2021-04-30 at 16:14.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #16626 on 2021-09-16 at 17:06:59","Made available in DSpace on 2021-09-17T02:34:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 DIGIOVANNI-THESIS-2021.pdf: 1046515 bytes, checksum: 1453f4aa993b2a185bb040a72e9a1f85 (MD5) LICENSE.txt: 4218 bytes, checksum: 63c066bf3f7e5ea962863d29366d9c82 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2021-04-30","Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 118602 Lift date: 2023-09-17T02:34:57Z Reason: Author requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD system","Author requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD system","U of I Only"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Incubation behavior, embryonic heart rate, and developmental variation within and among altricial bird species"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Ward, Michael P","Hauber, Mark E","Brawn, Jeffery D","Benson, Thomas J"],"dc:creator":["Di Giovanni, Alexander Jacob"],"dc:date":["2021-09-17T02:34:51Z","2023-09-17T02:34:57Z","2021-04-30","2021-05"],"dc:description":["The incubation period of an egg is a critical stage that has multiple implications in subsequent life stages, therefore understanding the processes within the egg during the incubation period are important for a broader understanding of avian development and life history strategies. I examined embryonic heart rate (EHR) within 14 sympatrically breeding grassland and shrubland bird species in east-central Illinois from April to August of 2019 and 2020. Specifically, I aimed to investigate 1) the factors that impact EHR across species, 2) how parental incubation behaviors impact EHR, 3) rates of hatching failure across species, and 4) the factors that drive variation in hatching failure across species. EHR was positively related to both the age of the embryo, as well as egg temperature. Additionally, EHR increased as the breeding season progressed and was negatively associated with clutch size. The EHR across the incubation period were similar across focal species, however, the two cavity nesting species, Eastern Bluebirds (Sialis sialis) and Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), exhibited lower EHR than the other species, while Dickcissels (Spiza americana) exhibited higher EHR than other species. Eastern Bluebirds also displayed greater nest temperature variation and a lower percent of time on the nest. Hatching failure was more common in cavity nesting species and nests with greater clutch sizes. A majority of embryonic death occurred before or shortly after the onset of incubation. The high rates of embryonic death in large clutches and early stages suggest the rates of mortality may be due to the delayed onset of incubation or the inability of females to adequately incubate large clutches. Overall, differences in life-history strategies across species may lead to differences in EHR and hatching failure.","Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2023-05-01","The student, Alexander Di Giovanni, accepted the attached license on 2021-04-30 at 12:06.","The student, Alexander Di Giovanni, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2021-04-30 at 12:14.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2021-04-30 at 16:14.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #16626 on 2021-09-16 at 17:06:59","Made available in DSpace on 2021-09-17T02:34:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 DIGIOVANNI-THESIS-2021.pdf: 1046515 bytes, checksum: 1453f4aa993b2a185bb040a72e9a1f85 (MD5) LICENSE.txt: 4218 bytes, checksum: 63c066bf3f7e5ea962863d29366d9c82 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2021-04-30","Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 118602 Lift date: 2023-09-17T02:34:57Z Reason: Author requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD system","Author requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD system","U of I Only"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["http://hdl.handle.net/2142/110759"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:rights":["© 2021 Alexander Jacob Di Giovanni"],"dc:subject":["avian embryonic heart rate","bird parental care","incubation behavior","hatching failure","embryonic mortality","embryonic development"],"dc:title":["Incubation behavior, embryonic heart rate, and developmental variation within and among altricial bird species"],"dc:type":["text","Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Natural Res & Env Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.S."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:52Z"}