https://scholars.lib.ntu.edu.tw/handle/123456789/598896
Title: | Egg incubation mechanics of giant birds | Authors: | Yen A Wu H.-J Chen P.-Y HON-TSEN YU Juang J.-Y. JIA-YANG JUANG |
Keywords: | Contact incubation;Finite element analysis (FEA);Giant birds;Mechanics;Moa;Ratites;Reversed sexual size dimorphism | Issue Date: | 2021 | Publisher: | MDPI AG | Journal Volume: | 10 | Journal Issue: | 8 | Start page/Pages: | Article number 738 | Source: | Biology | Abstract: | Finite element analysis (FEA) was used to conduct mechanical analyses on eggshells of giant birds, and relate this to the evolution and reproductive behavior of avian species. We aim to (1) investigate mechanical characteristics of eggshell structures of various ratite species, enabling comparisons between species with or without reversed sexual size dimorphism (RSSD); (2) quantify the safety margin provided by RSSD; (3) determine whether the Williams’ egg can have been incubated by an extinct giant bird Genyornis newtoni; (4) determine the theoretical maximum body mass for contact incubation. We use a dimensionless number C to quantify relative shell stiffness with respect to the egg size, allowing for comparison across wide body masses. We find that RSSD in moas significantly increases the safety margin of contact incubation by the lighter males. However, their safety margins are still smaller than those of the moa species without RSSD. Two different strategies were adopted by giant birds—one is RSSD and thinner shells, represented by some moa species; the other is no RSSD and regular shells, represented by the giant elephant bird. Finally, we predicted that the upper limit of body mass for contact incubation was 2000 kg. ? 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. |
URI: | https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85112650233&doi=10.3390%2fbiology10080738&partnerID=40&md5=82eb1c98935ec6ecca09a0338bf453d1 https://scholars.lib.ntu.edu.tw/handle/123456789/598896 |
ISSN: | 20797737 | DOI: | 10.3390/biology10080738 |
Appears in Collections: | 機械工程學系 |
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