Data from: Variation in offspring development is driven more by weather and maternal condition than predation risk ...

• Main Authors: De Zwaan, Devin R., Camfield, Alaine F., MacDonald, Elizabeth C., Martin, Kathy
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: The University of British Columbia 2020
• Subjects: Eremophila alpestris
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0398028; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0398028

Abstract 1. Variation in offspring development is expected to be driven by constraints on resource allocation between growth and maintenance (e.g., thermoregulation). Rapid post-natal development decreases predation risk, while inclement weather likely prolongs development. For taxa with parental care, parental behaviour may buffer offspring against some extrinsic drivers. 2. Using a 7-year dataset from an alpine population of horned lark Eremophila alpestris, a ground-nesting songbird in northern British Columbia, Canada, we investigated multiple potential drivers of variation in incubation and nestling development duration. 3. Using path analysis, we evaluated the direct effects of weather, predation risk, and parental care on offspring development, as well as, indirect developmental ‘carry-over’ effects of conditions during incubation on the nestling period. 4. Nestling period duration varied by nearly 100% (7–13 days) and incubation duration by 40% (10–14 days). Cold ambient temperatures late in the ...