Adaptive Significance of Egg Size in the European Starling: Experimental Tests

Reproductive success in relation to egg size was studied in European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) by swapping whole clutches between nests at the stare of the incubation period. Egg size did not reflect parental quality as no measure of reproductive success was correlated with the foster mothers' mean egg size. There was a significant positive relationship between the mean size of the cross—fostered egg and the subsequent mean size of hatchlings. The mean size of cross—fostered eggs did not affect hatching success or nestling growth rates, and initial nestling size differences between broods with large and small eggs persisted for <1 wk. No effect of mean egg size on mean nestling survival could be detected. Furthermore, a partial cross—fostering experiment, where nestlings were swapped between nests the day after hatching, failed to demonstrate any lasting effect of egg size on nestling size. It is suggested that mean egg size may only influence reproductive success during particularly inferior environmental conditions.