Data from: Free‐moving artificial eggs containing temperature loggers reveal remarkable within‐clutch variance in incubation temperature

Incubation is a crucial aspect of avian parental care and measuring incubation temperature in the wild can improve our understanding of life history tradeoffs and inform conservation efforts. However, there are challenges associated with measuring the temperature of eggs in natural nests. Most studies to date have measured incubation temperature by using a single, stationary logger in each nest. However, real eggs are rotated and moved throughout the nest by the parent during the incubation period, and thus, a stationary logger may not accurately represent the temperature experienced by individual eggs within the entire clutch. We recorded incubation temperature in nests by using multiple, mobile artificial egg temperature loggers. We installed six mobile loggers and one stationary logger in wood duck (Aix sponsa) nests to compare the two logger types in the field. We found that at a given ambient temperature, mobile loggers recorded lower average and more variable temperatures than stationary loggers. Further, temperatures recorded by stationary loggers showed no relationship with clutch size, while mobile loggers captured temperatures that were lower and more variable as clutch size increased. Also, the multiple mobile loggers revealed that eggs within a nest experienced a substantial range of temperatures throughout the incubation period. We discuss potential limitations of this method, but believe that it is a promising way to collect biologically‐relevant incubation temperature data and provides an opportunity to advance our understanding of incubation temperature as a parental effect.孵化是鸟类亲代抚育的核心环节，野外孵化温度的测定有助于深化我们对生活史权衡的理解，并为保育工作提供科学依据。然而，在天然鸟巢中测定卵温仍面临诸多挑战。迄今为止，多数相关研究均采用单个固定式温度记录器（temperature logger）对单巢的孵化温度进行监测。但在孵化周期内，亲鸟会对卵进行翻动与移位，因此固定式记录器无法准确反映整窝卵中各卵个体实际经历的温度状况。本研究采用多台移动式人工卵温度记录器（temperature logger）对鸟巢内的孵化温度进行采集。我们在林鸳鸯（Aix sponsa）的巢穴中布设了6台移动式记录器与1台固定式记录器，以在野外环境下对比两类记录器的监测效果。研究结果显示，在相同环境温度下，移动式记录器测得的平均温度更低，且温度波动幅度大于固定式记录器。进一步分析表明，固定式记录器的监测温度与窝卵数无显著关联，而移动式记录器所获温度则随窝卵数增加呈降低趋势且波动更为显著。此外，多台移动式记录器的监测数据揭示，单巢内的卵在整个孵化周期内所经历的温度范围存在显著差异。本研究最后探讨了该监测方法的潜在局限，但我们认为该方法可有效采集具有生物学相关性的孵化温度数据，为深化我们对"孵化温度作为亲代效应（parental effect）"的理解提供了新的契机。