Total energy expenditure was greatest at the lowest incubation temperature and lowest at the highest temperature. Peak VO 2 occurred closer to hatching in eggs incubated at higher temperatures.
Incubation temperature was negatively related to incubation duration and positively related to the maximum metabolic rate of the embryos. Oxygen consumption (VO 2) and carbon dioxide production (VCO 2 ) were measured by open-flow respirometry during the incubation of loggerhead sea turtle eggs at three temperatures (27.6, 30.0 and 31.8 ☌).Īt each temperature, VO 2 and VCO 2 showed a peak followed by a decline to hatching. The net effect of temperature on total energy demands is therefore uncertain. High temperatures may advance development and shorten the time to hatching, thereby reducing energy use, but they also stimulate metabolic rate increasing energy use. The effects of nest temperature on total energy use are however complex.
In particular variations in nest temperature may influence the rate at which embryos utilise their yolk energy. The choice of a suitable nest habitat by oviparous reptiles that deposit eggs into a nest and provide no subsequent parental care is likely to play a major role in the survival of the offspring.
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