High resolution locomotor time series in Japanese quail in a home-cage environment over a 6.5 day period (quail # 6 -group 1)

Each data point represents a 0.5s time interval (xi) in which the quail could either been ambulating (xi=1) or immobile (xi=0), over a 6.5 day period .The total number of data points is approximately 1.070.000. This time series has been shown to present both a fractal pattern, as well as ultradian and circadian rhythms. <strong>This is the data from quail number 6, of the first experimental group.</strong> In this experiment as a whole, the locomotor activity of 24 adult females quail (100-140 days old) was evaluated in a home-cage environment in a white wooden box measuring 40 x 40 x 40 cm (width x length x height, respectively) with a wire mesh floor. A metal bar wall divided the box in two same-size zones (feeding, nesting), and an opening served as a door allowing the bird to move freely between compartments. A video camera that automatically switched to infrared recording after lights were turned off was suspended 1.5m above the box. It was connected to a computer in an adjacent room and could be accessed remotely by experimenters. Testing began at approximately 1:00 PM, when 12 quail were placed in a box, and transported to a nearby experimental room. Each bird was then placed individually in the feeding zone of one of the boxes. During the following 6.5 days, the birds’ locomotor activity was continuously recorded. Testing ended at 9 PM the 7th day. Daily maintenance activities (egg collection, cleaning and feeding) were performed between 12 and 12:30 PM; the activity during this period was not included in time series, which in total implied a loss of 2% from the data set. Since only 12 birds could be tested simultaneously, two consecutive groups of 12 individuals were evaluated (group 1 and group 2). We used the commercially available ANY-MAZE@ computer program to register locomotion at 0.5 s intervals (xi). The locomotor time series (1.07e6 time intervals) of each bird was obtained by assigning a number one (xi = 1) if during the interval the bird was ambulating, or a zero (xi = 0) if immobile.

每个数据点对应一段时长0.5秒的时间间隔（变量xi），该间隔内鹌鹑的运动状态可分为活动（xi=1）与静止（xi=0），数据采集周期为6.5天。数据集总数据点数约为107万。该时间序列兼具分形模式、超昼夜节律（ultradian rhythms）与近日节律（circadian rhythms）特征。**本数据取自第一实验组的6号鹌鹑**。本整体实验以24只100~140日龄的成年雌性鹌鹑为研究对象，在规格为40×40×40 cm（宽×长×高）的白色木质笼盒中开展笼养行为观测，笼盒底部铺设金属网地板。笼盒内侧由金属杆分隔为两个面积相等的区域（觅食区与巢区），两区域间开设开口作为通道，供鹌鹑自由穿梭。笼盒上方1.5米处悬挂一台摄像机，光线关闭后将自动切换至红外录制模式；摄像机连接至邻室的计算机，实验人员可远程调取录像。实验于当日下午1:00左右启动：将12只鹌鹑放入笼盒并转运至邻近的实验舱，随后将每只鹌鹑单独放置于对应笼盒的觅食区内。在随后的6.5天内，实验人员持续记录鹌鹑的运动活动。实验于第7日晚9:00结束。每日的维护工作（收集鸟蛋、清洁笼盒与投喂饲料）均安排在中午12:00至12:30之间进行，该时段内的活动数据未纳入时间序列，最终导致数据集损失约2%的有效数据。由于单次仅可同时测试12只鹌鹑，实验分为两个连续批次开展，每批次12只个体（即实验组1与实验组2）。本研究采用商用ANY-MAZE@计算机软件，以0.5秒为间隔记录鹌鹑的运动状态：若该间隔内鹌鹑处于移动状态，则赋值xi=1；若处于静止状态，则赋值xi=0。通过该方式，可得到每只鹌鹑的运动时间序列（含1.07×10^6个时间间隔）。