Validating a Noninvasive Technique for Monitoring Embryo Movement In Ovo.

AbstractAvian embryos are a commonly used model system for developmental studies, but monitoring of physiological parameters such as heart rate (HR) and movement in ovo poses a challenge to researchers. These are also increasingly common research objectives for ecological and embryo behavior studies in oviparous species. We therefore explored the validity of a new digital egg-monitoring system for the noninvasive monitoring of these parameters. We tested the relationship between frequency-of-movement values gathered by digital monitoring and those gathered by the current standard method, which is comparatively invasive and requires egg windowing, and demonstrated that the digital monitoring method effectively distinguishes individual movements but cannot reliably monitor HR in actively motile embryos. We therefore provide recommendations for the appropriate use of this technique for avian physiologists. We also applied the digital monitoring method to reveal how frequency of movement varies throughout pre...