Meeting Abstract
Maternal influences on offspring occur not only during egg formation, but also during prenatal development in both birds and mammals. During incubation, avian hens provide key elements essential for normal embryonic development, including temperature regulation. Previous work indicates developing avian embryos are sensitive to small fluctuations in temperature and respond to fever-like temperatures with increased prenatal activity. Here, we examined the influence of maternally regulated prenatal temperature on postnatal motor coordination in bobwhite quail. Starting on embryonic day 5 (of 23), randomly assigned quail embryos experienced 4 days of low (36.9°C), normal/control (37.5°C), or high (38.1°C) temperature. Growth parameters of weight and tarsometatarsus bone length were collected prior to testing. Motor coordination was measured at 24 hours after hatching during a video recorded ambulation task. Videos were analyzed for gait patterns, including fall frequency, stride length, and base of support (BOS). Results revealed no differences in growth parameters between temperature conditions. However, hatchlings in the low and high temperature conditions fell significantly more often compared to controls. Further, hatchlings in the low and high conditions showed more variability in their BOS, and low condition hatchlings showed more variability in their stride length, suggesting a decline in motor control. These findings suggest optimal prenatal temperature promotes the development of a more coordinated motor system. The processes contributing to this link are currently under investigation. [NSF grant BCS 1525371]
