Data from: Mind the wind: microclimate effects on incubation effort of an arctic seabird ...

• Main Authors: Høyvik Hilde, Christoffer, Pélabon, Christophe, Guéry, Loreleï, Gabrielsen, Geir Wing, Descamps, Sébastien
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2017
• Subjects: Animalia; Somateria mollissima; Merginae; Anatidae; Mollissima; eider; Anseriformes; Somateria; Holocene; Arctic; Arctic Population; Climate change
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.4033n; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.4033n

The energetic costs of reproduction in birds strongly depend on the climate experienced during incubation. Climate change and increasing frequency of extreme weather events may severely affect these costs, especially for species incubating in extreme environments. In this 3-year study, we used an experimental approach to investigate the effects of microclimate and nest shelter on the incubation effort of female common eiders (Somateria mollissima) in a wild Arctic population. We added artificial shelters to a random selection of nesting females, and compared incubation effort, measured as body mass loss during incubation, between females with and without shelter. Nonsheltered females had a higher incubation effort than females with artificial shelters. In nonsheltered females, higher wind speeds increased the incubation effort, while artificially sheltered females experienced no effect of wind. Although increasing ambient temperatures tended to decrease incubation effort, this effect was negligible in the ... : Data fileData collected in the field, see readme file for details. ...