Data from: Is embryonic hypothermia tolerance common in birds?

Avian incubation temperatures oscillate within narrow limits to ensure proper embryonic development. However, field observations and experimental studies have found that some species can tolerate very low incubation temperatures, either regularly or occasionally. We artificially incubated eggs from five domestic species, which represent a range of egg sizes, to examine whether a diversity of avian species could exhibit an unusual hypothermia tolerance, as observed in the field. We found that eggs of the chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus), pigeon (Columba livia domestica), Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) and budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus) survived the incubation period and hatched after experiencing 10°C hypothermia for 6 h each day. However, embryos of white-rumped munia (Lonchura striata) died after 10 days of hypothermia. Our results showed that unusual hypothermia tolerance occurs in several avian species. This phenomenon might have been selected through the evolutionary history of birds. Future research should identify the importance of phylogeny, egg size and embryonic stage in tolerance to hypothermia.鸟类的孵化温度需在狭窄区间内波动，以保障胚胎正常发育。然而，野外观察与实验研究均发现，部分鸟类物种能够定期或偶尔耐受极低的孵化温度。 本研究针对涵盖不同卵大小的5种家养鸟类的卵开展人工孵化实验，旨在验证是否存在多种鸟类能够如野外观察所见，表现出异常的低温耐受（hypothermia tolerance）能力。 实验结果显示，家鸡（Gallus gallus domesticus）、家鸽（Columba livia domestica）、日本鹌鹑（Coturnix japonica）以及虎皮鹦鹉（Melopsittacus undulatus）的卵在每日经受10℃低温处理6小时后，可顺利完成孵化周期并成功出壳。但白腰文鸟（Lonchura striata）的胚胎在经历10天低温处理后死亡。 本研究结果表明，部分鸟类物种具备异常的低温耐受能力，这一现象或在鸟类的演化历程中受到自然选择的筛选。未来研究应明确系统发育（phylogeny）、卵大小以及胚胎阶段对低温耐受能力的影响权重。