Relationships between vegetation cover, breeding success and physiological heat stress in breeding Audouin's gull

This dataset contains the raw data supporting a study on the effects of nest vegetation cover on breeding performance, parental incubation behaviour, and chick physiological condition in a large colony of Audouin’s Gull (Ichthyaetus audouinii) at Deserta Island, Ria Formosa Natural Park, southern Portugal, during the 2023 breeding season. Three vegetation cover areas were compared: low (LVC), medium (MVC), and high (HVC) cover. Vegetation_cover.csv contains the percentage of live vegetation cover measured in a 1 m² quadrat centred on each nest, for all nests in each vegetation cover area. Egg_size_clutch_size_breeding_success.csv contains egg length and width measurements, calculated egg volume and egg shape index, laying date, clutch size, number of eggs hatched, and hatching success for each nest. Early_chick_growth_rate.csv contains the linear and quadratic growth coefficients derived from early body-mass measurements of first-hatched chicks. chick_body_mass.csv contains daily body mass and wing length measurements of first-hatched chicks from hatching to approximately 5–6 days of age. Tick_infestation.csv contains the date and number of ticks recorded on infested chicks during their first days after hatching. Physiology_data.csv contains haematological and biochemical blood parameters measured in first-hatched chicks at 5 days of age. HeartRate_data.csv contains heart rate and ambient temperature measurements from dummy-egg loggers deployed during incubation.