Improving the Accuracy and Precision of Egg Volume Measurement and Comparing Hoyt’s Equation and Troscianko’s Egg Volume Estimation for Gallinaceous Bird Species

Abstract

The recognition that egg volume variation has widespread implications in avian biology led us to test the accuracy and precision of the most commonly used egg volume determination methods. As a benchmark for the tests, we used real egg volume values determined by water submersion. We identified some evident limitations of this approach and attempted to improve the method by using distilled water and accurate temperature correction. Starting from the assumption that our methodological proposals can effectively improve the accuracy of egg volume measurements, we compared the outcomes with two widely used volume estimation methods based on Hoyt’s equation and Troscianko software estimate for five gallinaceous bird species (forty eggs from each species). We found that Hoyt’s and Troscianko’s egg volume estimation methods strongly correlate with our volume measurements. Despite the highly significant and relatively high values of coefficients of determination, further analyses reveal some important differences among the methods.

Keywords

• egg volume measurement
• egg volume estimates
• linear dimensions
• digital photography
• gallinaceous birds