Avian eggshell thickness for 12 species in the western U.S. from 2014 to 2018

Eggshell thickness was measured at the egg equator and poles (sharp pole and blunt pole) for 12 avian species. Eggshell thickness was related to egg morphometrics (egg length and width), embryonic development, egg status, and mercury contamination. Individual eggshells each have up to 3 thickness measurements, linked by the eggshell identification. Each measurement has the corresponding egg length, egg width, egg status, mercury concentration, and nest identification. Additionally, eggshell thickness was measured at 5 equally spaced positions along the longitude of the egg (sharp pole, quarter egg, half egg, three quarter egg, and blunt pole) in a subset of Forster's tern (Sterna forsteri) eggs. These data support the following publication: Peterson, Sarah H., Ackerman, J.T., Herzog, M.P., Toney, M.S., Cooney, B., and Hartman, C.A. 2020. Avian eggshell thickness in relation to egg morphometrics, embryonic development, and mercury contamination. Ecology and Evolution

Data and Resources

Field Value
accessLevel public
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identifier USGS:5efcd45682ce3fd7e8a5ba68
metadata_type geospatial
modified 20200910
old-spatial -124.9400, 31.1700, -109.0000, 49.0000
publisher U.S. Geological Survey
publisher_hierarchy Department of the Interior > U.S. Geological Survey
resource-type Dataset
source_datajson_identifier true
source_hash 00c93a71d222c42ebecc9411a64b768afafc0ac2
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spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-124.9400, 31.1700], [-124.9400, 49.0000], [ -109.0000, 49.0000], [ -109.0000, 31.1700], [-124.9400, 31.1700]]]}
theme {geospatial}
Groups
  • AmeriGEOSS
  • National Provider
  • North America
Tags
  • amerigeo
  • amerigeoss
  • biota
  • birds
  • california
  • ckan
  • egg-measurements
  • eggshell
  • geo
  • geoss
  • laboratory-methods
  • mercury-contamination
  • national
  • nevada
  • north-america
  • united-states
  • usgs-5efcd45682ce3fd7e8a5ba68
  • washington
isopen False
license_id notspecified
license_title License not specified
maintainer U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center
maintainer_email gs-b-werc_data_management@usgs.gov
metadata_created 2025-11-21T09:43:31.254115
metadata_modified 2025-11-21T09:43:31.254119
notes Eggshell thickness was measured at the egg equator and poles (sharp pole and blunt pole) for 12 avian species. Eggshell thickness was related to egg morphometrics (egg length and width), embryonic development, egg status, and mercury contamination. Individual eggshells each have up to 3 thickness measurements, linked by the eggshell identification. Each measurement has the corresponding egg length, egg width, egg status, mercury concentration, and nest identification. Additionally, eggshell thickness was measured at 5 equally spaced positions along the longitude of the egg (sharp pole, quarter egg, half egg, three quarter egg, and blunt pole) in a subset of Forster's tern (Sterna forsteri) eggs. These data support the following publication: Peterson, Sarah H., Ackerman, J.T., Herzog, M.P., Toney, M.S., Cooney, B., and Hartman, C.A. 2020. Avian eggshell thickness in relation to egg morphometrics, embryonic development, and mercury contamination. Ecology and Evolution
num_resources 2
num_tags 18
title Avian eggshell thickness for 12 species in the western U.S. from 2014 to 2018