Data from: Preparation for flight: pre-fledging exercise time is correlated with growth and fledging age in burrow-nesting seabirds

Chicks of many burrow-nesting seabirds are known to repeatedly emerge from their nests (these trips being termed “excursions”) and exercise their wings prior to fledging, but this behavior is poorly documented in the literature, and thus the relationship between growth and exercise remains unclear. Here, we used infrared video cameras placed in front of streaked shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas) nests during the chick-emergence period to examine correlations between chick excursions and parameters known to be important for juvenile survival after fledging. In addition, we also attached acceleration-temperature loggers to several chicks in order to evaluate the relationship between excursion time and time spent exercising the wing muscles (i.e. flapping). Chicks that undertook longer excursions exhibited more rapid increases in wing length and larger body masses at fledging, and also fledged earlier. Correlations between fitness-related parameters and excursion time indicate that excursions during the emergence period might offer insights into the various relationships between growth and behavior and/or the mechanisms underlying offspring survival following fledging.

众所周知，多种营洞巢海鸟的雏鸟在离巢前会反复从巢中爬出，此类活动被称为"漫游（excursions）"，期间雏鸟会进行翅肌锻炼，但目前学界对该行为的文献记载极少，因此雏鸟生长与锻炼之间的关联仍不明确。本研究在雏鸟漫游期于白额鹱（Calonectris leucomelas）的巢前置设红外摄像机，以探究雏鸟漫游行为与离巢后幼鸟存活关键参数间的相关性。此外，本研究还为部分雏鸟佩戴了加速度-温度记录仪，用以评估漫游时长与翅肌锻炼时间（即振翅动作）之间的关联。漫游时长更长的雏鸟，翅长增长速度更快，离巢时的体重更大，且离巢时间更早。适合度相关参数与漫游时长之间的相关性表明，漫游期的雏鸟活动或许可为揭示生长与行为间的多重关联，以及雏鸟离巢后存活的内在机制提供研究视角。