2.4 Ambient environment data collection
For our investigation, we collected two types of ambient temperature data. We assessed the average temperature of the 10 days preceding each nest’s initial egg laying date to explore the ambient temperature that may impact female partner choice during the courtship period. This is due to the 10-day gap that plovers normally have between the start of courting and the completion of the first egg . The China Meteorological Administration’s National Meteorological Information Centre (http://data.cma.cn/en) provided the daily ambient temperature data.
To explore the ambient temperature that may influence parental incubation behaviors, we collected temperature data using nest cameras at one-minute intervals for each nest. The average temperature was calculated every three hours, and the statistical analyses section provides further information on why we chose this interval.