DOI: 10.5061/dryad.nd4169j
title: Data from: Variation in nest characteristics and brooding patterns of female Black-throated Blue Warblers is associated with thermal cues

description: Thermal variation poses a problem for nesting birds and can result in
 reduced offspring growth rates and survival. To increase the thermal
 stability of the nest, females can adjust nest characteristics and nest
 attendance in response to changes in environmental conditions. However, it
 is unclear how and to what extent females modify parental behaviors during
 various stages of offspring development. We tested the hypothesis that
 females adjust nest characteristics and brooding patterns in response to
 thermal variation during the nest-building and nestling stages,
 respectively. We examined elevational variation in nest location, nest
 construction, and brooding patterns in the migratory Black-throated Blue
 Warbler (Setophaga caerulescens) across a 28C gradient at the Hubbard
 Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, USA. Density of woody stems at
 nest sites and nest wall thickness increased from low to high elevation,
 corresponding to decreasing temperatures, but we found no relationship
 between weather during nest building and nest characteristics. However,
 weather during the nestling stage was associated with female brooding
 patterns: at lower temperatures and with higher rainfall, females spent
 more time off the nest, which was associated with lower nestling mass near
 fledging. These results suggest that thermal cues during nest building may
 be unreliable as predictors of future conditions for developing nestlings
 and also that females might favor their own self-maintenance and
 compromise nestling growth under adverse thermal conditions.
description: Data for ANOVAs of nest
 characteristics across study plotsData table for analyses
 of variance (ANOVAs) examining stem density and nest wall thickness across
 study plots (Figure 1 of published article). Column headings: Year: year
 of nest construction; Plot: low, mid, or high elevation study plot; Nest:
 unique nest identifier; Density: number of woody stems per square m within
 1-m radius of nest; Thickness: nest wall thickness in cm. Missing data are
 indicated by “NA.” Data were collected from a breeding population of the
 migratory Black-throated Blue Warbler at the Hubbard Brook Experimental
 Forest (HBEF), Woodstock, New Hampshire, USA (43.93N, 71.75W), from
 2010-2013.ANOVAs--DensityAndThickness.csvData for ANOVAs of brooding patterns across study plotsData table for analyses of variance (ANOVAs) examining brooding patterns across study plots (Figure 1 of published article). Column headings: Year: year of nest construction; Plot: low, mid, or high elevation study plot; Nest: unique nest identifier; DayOffboutDuration: mean brooding off-bout duration in s over days 3-5 of the nestling stage; DayOffboutFrequency: brooding off-bout frequency per h over days 3-5 of the nestling stage; DayPercentTimeOff: proportion of time female was off the nest over days 3-5 of the nestling stage. Data were collected from a breeding population of the migratory Black-throated Blue Warbler at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF), Woodstock, New Hampshire, USA (43.93N, 71.75W), from 2010-2013.ANOVAs--BroodingPatterns.csvData for nest characteristics modelsData table for linear mixed models (LMMs) examining whether nest-building temperature and rainfall predicted stem density around the nest or nest wall thickness (Tables 1 & 2 of published article). Column headings: Year: year of nest construction; Plot: low, mid, or high elevation study plot; Female: unique female identifier; Nest: unique nest identifier; Elevation: elevation of nest site in m; Density: number of woody stems per square m within 1-m radius of nest; Thickness: nest wall thickness in cm; BuildingMeanMaxTemp: mean of maximum daily temperatures in degrees C recorded in the 5 days prior to clutch initiation; RainfallDuringBuilding: total rainfall in mm recorded in the 5 days prior to clutch initiation; Fledge: whether nest fledged young (1) or not (0); BuildingStart: date female initiated nest building; JDBuildingStart: Julian date that female initiated nest building. Data were collected from a breeding population of the migratory Black-throated Blue Warbler at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF), Woodstock, New Hampshire, USA (43.93N, 71.75W), from 2010-2013.NestCharacteristicsModels.csvData for brooding patterns models during the early nestling stageData table for linear mixed models (LMMs) examining whether nestling-stage temperature and rainfall and nest characteristics predicted brooding patterns over the early nestling stage (Tables 1 & 2 of published article). Column headings: Year: year of nest construction; Plot: low, mid, or high elevation study plot; Female: unique female identifier; Nest: unique nest identifier; Elevation: elevation of nest site in m; DayOffboutDuration: mean brooding off-bout duration in s over days 3-5 of the nestling stage; DayOffboutFrequency: brooding off-bout frequency per h over days 3-5 of the nestling stage; DayPercentTimeOff: proportion of time female was off the nest over days 3-5 of the nestling stage; DayAmbMaxTemp: mean of maximum daily temperatures in degrees C recorded over days 3-5 of the nestling stage; RainfallDuringNestlingStage: total rainfall in mm recorded over days 3-5 of the nestling stage; Density: number of woody stems per square m within 1-m radius of nest; Thickness: nest wall thickness in cm; BroodSize: mean number of nestlings in the nest over days 3-5 of the nestling stage; Fledge: whether nest fledged young (1) or not (0); Hatch: date nestlings hatched; JDHatch: Julian date that nestlings hatched. Data were collected from a breeding population of the migratory Black-throated Blue Warbler at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF), Woodstock, New Hampshire, USA (43.93N, 71.75W), from 2010-2013.BroodingPatternsModels--NestlingStage.csvData for bihourly brooding patterns modelsData table for linear mixed models (LMMs) examining whether nestling-stage temperature and nest characteristics predicted bihourly brooding patterns (Tables 1 & 2 of published article). Column headings: Year: year of nest construction; Plot: low, mid, or high elevation study plot; Female: unique female identifier; Nest: unique nest identifier; Window: identity of 2-h window over which measurements were averaged; Elevation: elevation of nest site in m; MeanOffboutDuration: mean brooding off-bout duration in s over 2-h window; OffboutFrequency: brooding off-bout frequency per h over 2-h window; PercentTimeOff: proportion of time female was off the nest over 2-h window; MeanAmbTemp: mean temperature in degrees C recorded over 2-h window; BroodSize: mean number of nestlings in the nest over days 3-5 of the nestling stage; Fledge: whether nest fledged young (1) or not (0); Hatch: date nestlings hatched; JDHatch: Julian date that nestlings hatched. Data were collected from a breeding population of the migratory Black-throated Blue Warbler at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF), Woodstock, New Hampshire, USA (43.93N, 71.75W), from 2010-2013.BroodingPatternsModels--Bihourly.csvData for nestling mass model with weather and broodingData table for linear mixed model (LMM) examining whether nestling-stage temperature and rainfall and brooding patterns predicted nestling mass near fledging (Tables 1 & 2 of published article). Column headings: Year: year of nest construction; Plot: low, mid, or high elevation study plot; Female: unique female identifier; Nest: unique nest identifier; MeanNestlingMass: mean nestling mass in g for nest on day 6 of the nestling stage; DayAmbMaxTemp: mean of maximum daily temperatures in degrees C recorded over days 3-5 of the nestling stage; RainfallDuringNestlingStage: total rainfall in mm recorded over days 3-5 of the nestling stage; DayPercentTimeOff: proportion of time female was off the nest over days 3-5 of the nestling stage; BroodSize: mean number of nestlings in the nest over days 3-5 of the nestling stage; Fledge: whether nest fledged young (1) or not (0); Hatch: date nestlings hatched; JDHatch: Julian date that nestlings hatched. Data were collected from a breeding population of the migratory Black-throated Blue Warbler at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF), Woodstock, New Hampshire, USA (43.93N, 71.75W), from 2010-2013.NestlingMassModel--WeatherAndBrooding.csvData for nestling mass model with nest location and constructionData table for linear mixed model (LMM) examining whether stem density at the nest site and nest wall thickness predicted nestling mass near fledging (Tables 1 & 2 of published article). Column headings: Year: year of nest construction; Plot: low, mid, or high elevation study plot; Female: unique female identifier; Nest: unique nest identifier; MeanNestlingMass: mean nestling mass in g for nest on day 6 of the nestling stage; Density: number of woody stems per square m within 1-m radius of nest; Thickness: nest wall thickness in cm; BroodSize: mean number of nestlings in the nest over days 3-5 of the nestling stage; Fledge: whether nest fledged young (1) or not (0); Hatch: date nestlings hatched; JDHatch: Julian date that nestlings hatched. Data were collected from a breeding population of the migratory Black-throated Blue Warbler at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF), Woodstock, New Hampshire, USA (43.93N, 71.75W), from 2010-2013.NestlingMassModel--NestLocationAndConstruction.csv