Poor developmental conditions decrease adult body size and egg size, but not egg laying rate and survival throughout adulthood: A long-term experiment in a precocial bird

The quality of the environment during individual development is generally considered to have long-lasting effects on performance in adulthood, but this is mainly based on observational studies that cannot pinpoint the causal pathways behind such long-term effects. In this study, we performed a randomized controlled trial to test for causal effects of a poor rearing diet on performance in growth, reproduction, and survival, over the complete life course of female Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). All individuals were housed under standardized conditions as adults, to allow separating effects of the developmental environment from effects of the adult environment. The poor rearing diet led to a dramatically reduced growth, which delayed the onset of reproduction, and resulted in a reduced body size throughout adulthood, as compared to a standard rearing diet. While there were no detectable effects on age-specific egg laying rate and survival, despite strong senescence in these fitness tr..., All data represent raw growth, survival and egg-laying data at various life stages over the complete lifespan of female Japanese Quail, collected from a captive population kept at the Institute of Avian Research in Wilhelmshaven, Germany., , # Poor developmental conditions decrease adult body size and egg size, but not egg laying rate and survival throughout adulthood: A long-term experiment in a precocial bird [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.0gb5mkmc7](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.0gb5mkmc7) ## Description of the data and file structure Data on growth, age of sexual maturity, adult age-specific body mass, adult tarsus length, lifespan, and age-specific egg-laying rate, and egg mass, of Japanese Quail (*Coturnix japonica*), analysed in relation to their rearing diet. All individuals were bred, kept, and monitored over their complete lifespan at the Institute of Avian Research in Wilhelmshaven, Germany. ### Files and variables #### File: Diet\_paper\_raw\_data.xlsx **Description:** 4 separate worksheets for 1) data on the growth in body mass for all individuals, 2) data on the adult age-specific body mass for all individuals, 3) data on the adult tarsus length, age at sexual maturity, and lifespan of all individuals, ...,个体发育阶段所处环境的质量，通常被认为会对成年后的表现产生持久影响，但此类结论主要基于观察性研究，无法明确这类长期效应背后的因果通路。本研究针对雌性日本鹌鹑（Coturnix japonica）的完整生命周期，开展随机对照试验（randomized controlled trial），以检验劣质育雏日粮对其生长、繁殖及存活相关表现的因果效应。所有个体在成年后均饲养于标准化环境中，以便区分发育环境与成年环境各自产生的效应。与标准育雏日粮组相比，劣质育雏日粮会显著抑制生长，延迟繁殖起始时间，并导致鹌鹑在整个成年期体型偏小。尽管这些适合度（fitness）指标存在显著的衰老现象，但劣质育雏日粮对特定日龄的产蛋率与存活率未产生可检测到的影响，…… 本数据集包含雌性日本鹌鹑完整生命周期内不同发育阶段的原始生长、存活及产蛋数据，采集自德国威廉港鸟类研究所饲养的圈养种群。 # 发育不良条件降低成年体型与蛋重，但不影响成年期产蛋率与存活率：一种早成鸟（precocial bird）的长期实验 https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.0gb5mkmc7 ## 数据与文件结构说明 本数据集涵盖日本鹌鹑（Coturnix japonica）的生长数据、性成熟日龄、成年特定日龄体重、成年跗跖长度、寿命、特定日龄产蛋率及蛋重数据，所有数据均结合育雏日粮背景进行分析。所有个体均在德国威廉港鸟类研究所完成从繁育、饲养至完整生命周期监测的全部流程。 ### 文件与变量 #### 文件：Diet_paper_raw_data.xlsx **说明：** 该文件包含4个独立工作表，分别为1）所有个体的体重生长数据；2）所有个体的成年特定日龄体重数据；3）所有个体的成年跗跖长度、性成熟日龄及寿命数据；……