Saddleback Journal of Biology - Saddleback College

Fall 2009 Biology 3B Paper
Average CO2 Production (mL CO2°•g-1°•min-1)
0.35
0.3
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
Gestational Period
Beginning Middle Late
Figure 1: The average of the production of CO 2 by the five quail eggs at beginning, middle, and end of gestation.
Error bars show standard error values of the mean.* Statistically different from late gestational period.
Discussion
Results of the measurement of metabolic rate
at different gestational periods was statistically
significant (P=0.046, two-tailed ANOVA). The
Bonferroni/Dunn comparison showed a statistical
significance between middle and late gestation. The
results indicated that while there was an average 6.5%
increase in metabolic rate, there was a statistically
significant decrease in carbon dioxide production
towards the end of development. The current
experiment did not support previous work such as
Mortola, 2009 who found that the metabolism should
be at it’s highest just before pipping.
An increase in carbon dioxide production
indicated an increase in metabolism, likely due to the
development of organs. However, later in the
gestational period, the production of carbon dioxide
decreased, signifying a decrease in metabolic rate for
all developing quails. Investigators suspect that
development was halted possibly due to the incubator
being too hot or too cold or the breeder were not fed
properly.
The temperature and humidity of the incubator
especially right before pipping is crucial to a good
hatching. If the temperature and humidity were off
even for one day, it could have detrimental effects on
the developing fetuses (Ortlieb, 2009). Since quails
have such a short gestational period, a constant
temperature and humidity is imperative during
incubation. Moreover, if humidity is not raised to 80%
just before pipping, the quails will not hatch. During
the experiment, the power could have gone out
momentarily in the research lab, thus halting all
development for the fetuses.
Additionally, if the breeding quail were not
given proper nutrition, they would not produce fertile
eggs. The nutrition of breeding quail must be kept
constant and correct or else the hens will not produce
fertile eggs, thus explaining why 7 of the 12 eggs were
not fertilized as they should have been.
The data gathered by investigators did not
support their hypothesis, but further research must be
done. Because problems were encountered in this
experiment, a complete experiment with fertilized eggs
must be completed to fully support or reject
investigator’s hypothesis. For example, 12 fertilized
eggs would be used in ideal hatching conditions, with
humidity and temperature kept constant. Additionally,
investigators could compare the mass of the eggs to
their metabolic rate. Another potential experiment that
could be conducted would be one in which different
species of the class Aves could be compared to one
93
Saddleback Journal of Biology
Spring 2010