Incubation strategies of the Black-necked Crane(Grus nigricollis) in relation to ambient temperature and time of day

作     者：Lixun Zhang Bei An Meilin Shu Changming Zhao Xiaojun Yang Yila Suo Yongjun Se Xilite Dabu 

作者机构：School of Life SciencesLanzhou University Gansu Key Laboratory of Biomonitoring and Bioremediation for Environmental Pollution State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and EvolutionKunming Institute of ZoologyChinese Academy of Sciences National Nature Reserve of Yanchiwan 

出 版 物：《Avian Research》 (鸟类学研究（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2017年第8卷第3期

页      面：147-155页

核心收录：

学科分类：0710[理学-生物学] 0830[工学-环境科学与工程（可授工学、理学、农学学位）] 07[理学] 0905[农学-畜牧学] 0906[农学-兽医学] 0713[理学-生态学] 

基　　金：supported by a grant from the State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (GREKF13-12) supported by Yanchiwan National Nature Reserve 

主　　题：Time of day Ambient temperature Egg-turning frequency On-bout duration Nest attendance Recess frequency Biparental bird 

摘      要：Background: The behavior of cranes reflects many of their survival strategies, but little has been known of the incubation strategies of cranes, in which both parents share incubation duties, in response to cold temperatures in alpine environments. The lack of information may restrict the effective conservation of the threatened Black-necked Crane(Grus nigricollis), a biparental bird nesting in high elevation ***: We directly observed and used infrared video cameras from 2014 to 2015 to study the incubation behavior and quantitatively measured the frequency and details of egg turning behavior in the Black-necked Crane at the Yanchiwan National Nature Reserve in western Gansu Province, ***: At lower ambient temperatures in the morning, crane parents spent more time on the nest with less recess frequency and prolonged on-bout duration, while at higher temperatures around noon, the parents had more frequent recesses from incubation and shorter periods between nest exchanges. They adjusted the amount of time incubating by varying the recess frequency and the length of on-bout duration. Mean nest attendance and egg turning frequency of females were significantly higher than those of the males. The nest attendance and on-bout duration of females showed a significantly negative relationship with those of males. The two parents responded differently to the change of temperature. Females spent more time on the nest at lower morning temperatures, while males increased their time on the nest at higher temperatures after noon. Higher incubation recess frequency and egg turning frequency were observed at noon, probably because parents spent more time foraging, taking advantage of the lower egg cooling ***: Both Black-necked Crane parents in the alpine environment adjusted their behavior in response to the thermal requirements of eggs and the weather conditions experienced. Our findings demonstrate that parents of this species incubated in diffe