Data from: Constant and cycling incubation temperatures have long-term effects on the morphology and metabolic rate of Japanese quail

Incubation temperature can have profound effects on growth and development
of embryos and young birds. However, few studies have examined the role
that cycling incubation temperature may play in phenotypic variation and
whether these effects persist to adulthood. We incubated Japanese quail
eggs at control temperatures (37.5°C), at low temperatures (36.0°C), and
under a cyclical treatment that maintained the same average temperature as
the low treatment (36.0°C) with high temperatures that were the same as
the control (37.5°C) and low temperatures that still allowed for
development of the embryo (28.0°C). Individuals in the low treatment group
were smaller in mass and size than individuals in the control group but
had an increased basal metabolic rate relative to individuals in the
cyclical treatment group. Temperature cycling offset the effects of low
incubation temperatures on metabolic rate and embryonic development but
not the effects on adult mass and size. Although Japanese quail are
sexually size dimorphic, with females larger than males, we could detect
no evidence of sex-specific sensitivity to suboptimal incubation
temperatures. These results highlight the importance of incubation
temperature and pattern as sources of morphological and physiological
variation of adult birds.

孵化温度对胚胎及幼鸟的生长发育具有深远影响。然而，关于循环孵化温度在表型变异（phenotypic variation）中所起的作用，以及这些影响是否持续至成年阶段的研究却较为有限。我们将日本鹌鹑蛋分别置于对照组温度（37.5°C）、低温组温度（36.0°C），以及循环处理组中孵化——该循环处理组的平均温度与低温组一致（36.0°C），其高温区间与对照组相同（37.5°C），而低温区间则维持在仍能支持胚胎发育的28.0°C。低温组个体的质量与体型均小于对照组，但相较于循环处理组个体，其基础代谢率（basal metabolic rate）有所升高。温度循环抵消了低温孵化对代谢率及胚胎发育的影响，却未抵消其对成年个体质量与体型的作用。尽管日本鹌鹑存在性别大小二态性（sexually size dimorphic）（雌性体型大于雄性），但我们未发现性别特异性对次优孵化温度（suboptimal incubation temperatures）的敏感性证据。这些结果凸显了孵化温度及模式作为成年鸟类形态与生理变异来源的重要性。