Appropriate microclimates are essential for the development of embryos in avian eggs. Physical demands of incubating adults would also be affected by microclimate. The breeding areas of the Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii) overlap with intense solar radiation and the presence of tropical cyclone and they prefer nest structure with vegetation or rock walls, as these may provide concealment to the surrounding weather. The objectives of this study were to examine the effect of nest structure on the nest microclimate and hatching success. In addition to nest structures, the effect of nest materials and parental incubation behavior on microclimate were also investigated. Results showed that the average temperature of vegetation-removed nests was higher than that of the control group. Rock walls seemed to prevent moisture formed from dew and rain. Incubation behavior can prevent eggs from overheating. However, there were no differences in parental thermal behavior and hatching success between nest types. To sum up, vegetation next to the nest can prevent the eggs from overheating while parents were temporarily absent. Parental incubation can insulate the eggs from surrounding weather stresses, and compensate the negative effect of nest structure with harsh conditions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NSYSU/oai:NSYSU:etd-0211109-102907 |
| Date | 11 February 2009 |
| Creators | Sung, Hsin-Yi |
| Contributors | Yuan-Hsun Sun, Hsiao-Wei Yuan, Hsiao-Wei Yuan |
| Publisher | NSYSU |
| Source Sets | NSYSU Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Archive |
| Language | Cholon |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lib.nsysu.edu.tw/ETD-db/ETD-search/view_etd?URN=etd-0211109-102907 |
| Rights | unrestricted, Copyright information available at source archive |
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