Physiological factors influencing female fertility in birds.

ABSTRACT: Fertility is fundamental to reproductive success, but not all copulation attempts result in a fertilized embryo. Fertilization failure is especially costly for females, but we still lack a clear understanding of the causes of variation in female fertility across taxa. Birds make a useful model system for fertility research, partly because their large eggs are easily studied outside of the female's body, but also because of the wealth of data available on the reproductive productivity of commercial birds. Here, we review the factors contributing to female infertility in birds, providing evidence that female fertility traits are understudied relative to male fertility traits, and that avian fertility research has been dominated by studies focused on Galliformes and captive (relative to wild)

SUBMITTER: Assersohn K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8316823 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature