DOI: 10.5061/dryad.18931zd7r
title: Data from: Interactive effects of temperature acclimation and dietary fatty acids on metabolic rate and body composition of zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata)

description: Climate change is contributing to geographic range shifts in many bird
 species, with possible exposure to novel diets. How individuals respond
 physiologically across chronic time frames to the interacting effects of
 diet and environmental temperature has been little explored. We acclimated
 zebra finches to either cool (20-24°C) or thermoneutral (35°C)
 temperatures over 6-months and provided them with diets enriched in either
 unsaturated or saturated fatty acids. We measured body mass throughout the
 study, and basal metabolic rate (BMR) and body composition at 3- and
 6-months, respectively. Individuals held in cool conditions and fed a diet
 enriched with unsaturated fatty acids lost mass relative to the other
 groups, and after 6-months were of similar mass to individuals maintained
 at thermoneutrality. Chronic exposure to cool conditions increased BMR and
 the mass of the pectoral muscle and visceral organs. However, we could
 detect no long-term effect of diet on any physiological parameter. Our
 results contrast with those of birds studied over acute time frames, in
 which diet and temperature interact to determine energy expenditure. Over
 chronic time frames individuals appear to reach a new steady-state, with
 long-term physiological responses driven primarily by thermoregulatory
 responses to environmental temperature
description: # Data from: Interactive effects of temperature acclimation and dietary
 fatty acids on metabolic rate and body composition of zebra finches
 (Taeniopygia guttata)
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.18931zd7r](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.18931zd7r) ## Description of the data and file structure This data set resulted from a study of captive zebra finches held at one of two temperatures, and fed a diet enriched with either saturated or unsaturated fatty acids. ### Files and variables #### File: MC1\_Pectoralis\_Mass\_Data.csv **Description:** Data on mass of pectoralis muscle of zebra finches exposed to one of two environmental temperatures and one of two dietary treatments ##### Variables * Pec: Mass of the pectoral muscles of a zebra finch, measured in grams, after 6 months acclimating to experimental treatment. Mass was determined by weighing the left pectoral muscle and doubling it. * Diet: Dietary treatment that the bird was exposed to over the experimental period. Individuals were listed as either a saturated fatty acid enriched diet (SFA) or an unsaturated fatty acid enriched diet (UFA). * Temp: Temperature treatment that the bird was exposed to over the experimental period (warm or cool). Note: the temperatures treatments mentioned in the manuscript were referred to as thermal neutral zone (TNZ) and cool. While TNZ referred to a temperature of 35 °C, the cool temperature during the experiment was set for 20 °C at the start of the experiment, until day 34, when we raised the housing temperature to 24 °C. * Sex: Sex of the bird based on physical and behavioural markers * ID:Individual band identity of bird being recorded * Wt:Body mass of the bird being examined, measured in grams * Cage: Housing cage which the birds lived in during the experiment * Date:The number of elapsed days from the beginning of the experiment to when an individual was sampled #### File: MC1\_Organ\_PCA\_Data.csv **Description:**  Data on mass of various organs of zebra finches exposed to one of two environmental temperatures and one of two dietary treatments ##### Variables * Liver:Mass of the liver, measured in grams, of birds after completing a 6-month acclimation to combined diet and temperature treatments * Gizzard:Mass of the gizzard, measured in grams, of birds after completing a 6-month acclimation to combined diet and temperature treatments * Heart:Mass of the heart, measured in grams, of birds after completing a 6-month acclimation to combined diet and temperature treatments * SI: Mass of the small intestines, measured in grams, of birds after completing a 6-month acclimation to combined diet and temperature treatments * Kid: Mass of both kidneys, measured in grams, of birds after completing a 6-month acclimation to combined diet and temperature treatments * Diet:Dietary treatment that the bird was exposed to over the experimental period. Individuals were on either a saturated fatty acid enriched diet (SFA) or an unsaturated fatty acid enriched diet (UFA) * Temp:Temperature treatment that the bird was exposed to over the experimental period (warm or cool). Note: the temperatures treatments mentioned in the manuscript were referred to as thermal neutral zone (TNZ) and cool. While TNZ referred to a temperature of 35 °C, the cool temperature during the experiment was set for 20 °C at the start of the experiment, until day 34, where we raised the housing temperature to 24 °C * Sex: Sex of the bird based on physical and behavioural markers * ID: Individual band identity of bird being recorded * Wt: Body mass of the bird being examined, measured in grams, of birds after completing a 6-month acclimation to combined diet and temperature treatments. * Cage: Housing cage which the birds lived in during the experiment * Date: The number of elapsed days from the beginning of the experiment to when an individual was sampled #### File: MC1\_Body\_Mass\_Data.csv **Description:**  Data on changes in whole body mass of zebra finches exposed to one of two environmental temperatures and one of two dietary treatments ##### Variables * ID:Individual band identity of bird being recorded * Time: Reference to the time point of the study being examined. Data are recorded as 0, 1, or 6, depicting birds being recorded prior to experimental manipulations, at an acute time span (1 month), and at a chronic time span (6 months) * Wt: Individual body mass measured in grams * Diet:Dietary treatment that the bird was exposed to over the experimental period. Individuals were listed as either a saturated fatty acid enriched diet (SFA) or an unsaturated fatty acid enriched diet (UFA) * Temp: Temperature treatment that the bird was exposed to over the experimental period (warm or cool). Note: the temperatures treatments mentioned in the manuscript were referred to as thermal neutral zone (TNZ) and cool. While TNZ referred to a temperature of 35 °C, the cool temperature during the experiment was set for 20 °C at the start of the experiment, until day 34, when we raised the housing temperature to 24°C * Sex: Sex of the bird based on physical and behavioural markers * Cage: Cage identity where a bird was housed during the experiment #### File: MC1\_Feeding\_Rate\_Data.csv **Description:**  Data on the feeding rate of zebra finches exposed to one of two environmental temperatures and one of two dietary treatments ##### Variables * Date:Number of days elapsed since the start of the experiment * Cage:Housing cage in which the birds lived during the experiment * Time:Time of day at which the video recording started. Time is represented as a percentage of the day elapsed on a 24-hour clock (ie 1:00 am=4.2%, 3:30 am=14.6%, etc.). * Sex:Sex of the bird based on physical and behavioural markers * Diet:Dietary treatment that the bird was exposed to over the experimental period. Individuals were listed as either a saturated fatty acid enriched diet (SFA) or an unsaturated fatty acid enriched diet (UFA) * Temp:Temperature treatment that the bird was exposed to over the experimental period (TNZ or cool). Note: the temperatures treatments mentioned in the manuscript were referred to as thermal neutral zone (TNZ) and cool. While TNZ referred to a temperature of 35 °C, the cool temperature during the experiment was set for 20 °C at the start of the experiment, until day 34, where we raised the housing temperature to 24 °C * Percent:Percent of time spent feeding determined through behavioural analysis. Birds were examined at 30 second intervals through video, if a bird was seen to be eating at the 30 second mark, it was considered to be a single eating event. Each eating event was reported as part of the proportion of all possible 30 second windows in which a bird could have been observed. All recordings had between 167-237 total sample periods (mean=228, median=236) * Notes: All birds that were included in statistical analysis are indicated as “N/A”, the one bird removed as an outlier is noted using “Omitted” #### File: MC1\_BMR\_Data.csv **Description:**  ##### Variables * VO2_mlmin:Rate of oxygen consumption, in mL/min * VCO2_mlmin:Rate of carbon dioxide production, in mL/min * Chamber:Identity of the air channel entering the metabolic chamber in which an individual bird was measured * rer: Respiratory exchange ratio between oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production * Date:Number of days elapsed from the start of the experiment * Temp:Temperature treatment that the bird was exposed to over the experimental period (warm or cool). Note: the temperatures treatments mentioned in the manuscript were referred to as thermal neutral zone (TNZ, warm in the datasheet) and cool. While TNZ referred to a temperature of 35 °C, the cool temperature during the experiment was set for 20 °C at the start of the experiment, until day 34, where we raised the housing temperature to 24 °C * Diet: Dietary treatment that the bird was exposed to over the experimental period. Individuals were listed as either a saturated fatty acid enriched diet (SFA) or an unsaturated fatty acid enriched diet (UFA) * Sex:Sex of the bird based on physical and behavioural markers * Cage:Housing cage which the birds lived in during the experiment * WT1:Mass of the birds, in grams, prior to entering their respirometry chamber * WT2: Mass of the birds, in grams, after exiting their chamber and the full respirometry trial was complete * Note: All birds measured without any concerns are indicated as “N/A”. The 6 birds which were removed as probable outliers are indicated using “Omitted”. Of the 6 birds that were outliers, 4 underwent respirometry a second time and had their new data included (marked as "Retrial") ## Code/software Data are saved as csv files.