Data from: Thermoregulatory behavior is widespread in the embryos of reptiles and birds

Recent studies have demonstrated that thermoregulatory behavior occurs not only in post-hatching turtles, but also prior to hatching. Does thermoregulatory behavior also occur in the embryos of other reptile and bird species? Our experiments show that such behavior is widespread but not universal in reptile and bird embryos. We recorded repositioning within the egg, in response to thermal gradients, in the embryos of three species of snakes (Xenochrophis piscator, Elaphe bimaculata, and Zaocys dhumnades), two turtles (Chelydra serpentina and Ocadia sinensis), one crocodile (Alligator sinensis), and four birds (Coturnix coturnix, Gallus gallus domesticus, Columba livia domestica and Anas platyrhynchos domestica). However, we detected no significant thermoregulation by the embryos of two lizard species (Takydromus septentrionalis and Phrynocephalus frontalis). Overall, embryonic thermoregulatory behavior is widespread in reptile as well as bird species, but may be unimportant in the small eggs laid by most lizards.

近年来的研究已证实，体温调节行为（thermoregulatory behavior）不仅存在于破壳后的龟类，也可发生于孵化前阶段。那么，其他爬行类与鸟类的胚胎是否也存在此类体温调节行为？本研究的实验结果表明，这类行为在爬行类和鸟类胚胎中广泛存在，但并非普遍存在。我们记录了3种蛇——渔游蛇（Xenochrophis piscator）、双斑锦蛇（Elaphe bimaculata）、乌梢蛇（Zaocys dhumnades）、2种龟——拟鳄龟（Chelydra serpentina）、中华花龟（Ocadia sinensis）、1种鳄类（扬子鳄Alligator sinensis）以及4种鸟类——鹌鹑（Coturnix coturnix）、家鸡（Gallus gallus domesticus）、家鸽（Columba livia domestica）、家鸭（Anas platyrhynchos domestica）——的胚胎在热梯度环境下于卵内发生位置重定位的现象。然而，我们未在2种蜥蜴（北草蜥Takydromus septentrionalis、荒漠沙蜥Phrynocephalus frontalis）的胚胎中检测到显著的体温调节行为。总体而言，胚胎体温调节行为在爬行类与鸟类中广泛存在，但对于多数蜥蜴所产的小型卵而言，这类行为可能并不重要。