Fu Yiqiang, Dowell Simon D, Zhang Zhengwang
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
Zoolog Sci. 2012 Jun;29(6):373-6. doi: 10.2108/zsj.29.373.
Temperature data loggers (TDL) are mostly used to monitor avian incubation behavior in bird studies. In this paper we demonstrate how TDL can also be used to determine different breeding stages and nest success of the vulnerable Emei Shan Liocichla (Liocichla omeiensis). All nests that contained at least one egg were divided into two groups. Group I included six nests monitored traditionally by the observers' visits, while Group II included eight nests monitored by TDL. Group I and Group II were visited every 1-4 days and 7 days, respectively, to check nest contents and status (e.g., active vs. inactive, and the breeding process) until fledging or nest failure. The time of each observation was recorded to verify the interpretation of TDL. The data recorded by TDL were converted into line graphs of temperature against time and assessed visually. The results indicated that TDL can reliably identify different breeding stages and estimate daily nest survival rates (DSR) and total nest success. The nest success of Group II (0.3015) was higher than that of Group I (0.2387), suggesting that deployment of TDL did not negatively influence nest survival rate of Emei Shan Liocichla. In contrast to traditional nest visits, TDL minimized disturbance by observers and provided a more precise estimate of nest survival. We suggest that TDL should be used more widely in studies of the breeding ecology of rare and endangered birds.
温度数据记录器（TDL）在鸟类研究中大多用于监测鸟类的孵化行为。在本文中，我们展示了TDL如何还能用于确定易危物种峨眉柳莺（Liocichla omeiensis）的不同繁殖阶段和巢穴成功率。所有至少含有一枚卵的巢穴被分为两组。第一组包括6个巢穴，由观察者定期探访进行传统监测，而第二组包括8个巢穴，由TDL进行监测。第一组和第二组分别每1 - 4天和7天探访一次，以检查巢穴内的情况和状态（例如，活跃与不活跃，以及繁殖进程），直至雏鸟出飞或巢穴失败。记录每次观察的时间以核实TDL的解读。TDL记录的数据被转换为温度随时间变化的折线图并进行直观评估。结果表明，TDL能够可靠地识别不同的繁殖阶段，并估计每日巢穴存活率（DSR）和总巢穴成功率。第二组的巢穴成功率（0.3015）高于第一组（0.2387），这表明使用TDL并未对峨眉柳莺的巢穴存活率产生负面影响。与传统的巢穴探访相比，TDL将观察者的干扰降至最低，并对巢穴存活率提供了更精确的估计。我们建议，TDL应在珍稀濒危鸟类繁殖生态学研究中得到更广泛的应用。
