2.1 Study species and working sites
The
Kentish plover breeds in the northeast coast and inland saline lakes in
Eurasia, while the white-faced plover is confined to the southeast coast
and islands in China . We selected a white-faced plover population on
Paisha Island (20° 54ʹ N, 110° 29ʹ E, PI) in a subtropical climate. We
also used three Kentish plover populations: one in a north temperate
coastal area at Bohai Bay (39° 14ʹ N, 118° 52ʹ E, BB), another in a
desert inland lake at Taitema Lake (39° 26ʹ N, 88° 12ʹ E, TL), and the
last one in an alpine inland lake habitat at Qinghai Lake (36° 48ʹ N,
100° 45ʹ E, QL). Ambient temperature was highest in the PI population,
followed by BB and TL, and was lowest in the QL population (Figure 1).
The distribution of these populations provides a good study system for
understanding how ambient environment variance modulates local sexual
selection. Both species exhibit biparental care, and extra-pair
paternity rates are typically low (0-4.1%, ), suggesting potentially
post-copulatory mate choice based on male incubation behavior. Fieldwork
was conducted during the breeding seasons in 2018 and 2019, with work on
Paisha Island and Bohai Bay conducted from May to June, work at Qinghai
Lake from May to July, and work at Taitema Lake conducted from May to
July in 2019.