DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14104829.v1
title: Data from: Natal experience and pre-breeding environmental conditions affect lay date plasticity in Savannah sparrows

description: <b>Summary</b>The repository includes the data and R script for performing an analysis of among- and within-individual differences in the timing of first nesting attempts of the year in natal and pre-breeding environmental conditions (see reference). The data come from a long-term study of the demography of Savannah sparrows (<i>Passerculus sandwichensis</i>) breeding on Kent Island, New Brunswick, Canada (44.58°N, 66.76°W). Climate data were taken from an Environment and Climate Change Canada weather station at the airport in Saint John, NB (45.32°N, 65.89°W; https://www.climate.weather.gc.ca)<br><b>Datasets</b><b>(1)</b> SAVS_all_nests_samp.csv: contains summary information for all nest attempts observed for all females included in the analysis (i.e., including both first-of-year and subsequent lay dates).<b>(2)</b> SAVS_first_nest_per_year_samp.csv: contains detailed information on the first nesting attempt by each female Savannah sparrow monitored in the population over the course of the study (1987-2019, excluding the years 2005-2007; see <i>Methods: Study site and field sampling</i> in reference).<b>(3)</b> mean_daily_temperature.csv: contains mean daily temperature records from the ECCC weather station at Saint John, NB (see above). These mean daily temperatures were used in a climate sensitivity analysis to determine the optimum pre-breeding window on Kent Island.<b>(4)</b> SAVS_annual_summary.csv: contains annual summaries of average lay dates, breeding density, reproductive output, etc.<br><b>Variables</b>- female.id = factor; unique aluminum band number (USGS or Canadian Wildlife Service) assigned to each female- rain.categorical = binary (0 = low rainfall; 1 = high rainfall); groups females into low (81-171 mm) and high (172-378 mm) natal rainfall groups, based on the natal environmental conditions observed in each year (see <i>Methods: Statistical analysis</i> in reference)- year = integer (1987-2019); study year. The population on Savannah sparrows on Kent Island has been monitored since 1987 (excluding three years, 2005-2007)- nest.id = factor; an alpha-numeric code assigned to each nest; unique within years (the combination of year and nest.id would create a unique identifier for each nest)- fledglings = integer; number of offspring fledged from a nest- total.fledglings = integer; the total number of fledglings reared by a given female over the course of her lifetime- nest.attempts = integer; the total number of nest attempts per female (the number of nests over which the total number of fledglings is divided; includes both successful and unsuccessful clutches)<br>hatch.yday = integer; day of the year on which the first egg hatched in a given nestlay.ydate = integer; day of the year on which the first egg was laid in a given nestlay.caldate = date (dd/mm/yyyy); calendar date on which the first egg in a given nest was laidnestling.year = integer; the year in which the female/mother of a given nest was born- nestling.density = integer; the density of adult breeders in the year in which a given female (associated with a particular nest) was born- total.nestling.rain = numeric; cumulative rainfall (in mm) experienced by a female during the nestling period in her natal year of life (01 June to 31 July; see <i>Methods: Temperature and precipitation</i> data in reference)- years.experience = integer; number of previous breeding years per female in a particular year- density.total = integer; total number of adult breeders in the study site in a particular year- MCfden = numeric; mean-centred female density- MCbfden = numeric; mean-centred between-female density- MCwfden = numeric; mean-centred within-female density- mean.t.window = numeric; mean temperature during the identified pre-breeding window (03 May to 26 May; see Methods: Climate sensitivity analysis in reference)- MCtemp = numeric; mean-centred temperature during the optimal pre-breeding window- MCbtemp = numeric; mean-centred between-female temperature during the optimal pre-breeding window- MCwtemp = numeric; mean-centred within-female temperature during the optimal pre-breeding window- female.age = integer; age (in years) of a given female in a given year- MCage = numeric; mean-centred female age- MCbage = numeric; mean-centred between-female age- MCwage = numeric; mean-centred within-female age<br>- mean_temp_c = numeric; mean daily temperature in °C<br>- meanLD = numeric; mean lay date (in days of the year) across all first nest attempts in a given year- sdLD = numeric; standard deviation in lay date (in days of the year) across all first nest attempts in a given year- seLD = numeric; standard error n lay date (in days of the year) across all first nest attempts in a given year- meanTEMP = numeric; mean temperature (in °C) during the breeding period in a given year- records = integer; number of first nest attempts from each year included in the analysis- total.nestling.precip = numeric; total rainfall (in mm) during the nestling period (01 June to 31 July) in a given year- total.breeding.precip = numeric; total rainfall (in mm) during the breeding period (15 April to 31 July) in a given year- density.total = integer; total density of adult breeders on the study site in a given year- total.fledglings = integer; total number of offspring fledged by all breeders in the study site on a given year<br>- cohort.fecundity = numeric; average number of offspring per breeder in a given year<br><b>Code</b>code for Burant et al. - SAVS lay date plasticity analysis.RThe R script provided includes all the code required to import the data and perform the statistical analyses presented in the manuscript. These include:- t-tests investigating the effects of natal conditions (rain.categorical) on female age, nest attempts, and reproductive success- linear models of changes in temperature, precipitation, reproductive success, and population density over time, and lay dates in response to female age, density, etc.- a climate sensing analysis to identify the optimal pre-breeding window on Kent Island- mixed effects models investigating how lay dates respond to changes in within- and between-female age, density, and temperature<br><b>see readme.rtf for a list of datasets and variables.</b>