The relationship between plumage coloration and aggression in female tree swallows

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle L. Beck ◽  
William A. Hopkins
Keyword(s):  
Plumage Coloration ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Female Tree ◽  
The Relationship

scholarly journals Baseline corticosterone does not reflect iridescent plumage traits in female tree swallows

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keneth Sarpong ◽  
Christine L. Madliger ◽  
Christopher M. Harris ◽  
Oliver P. Love ◽  
Stéphanie M. Doucet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Secondary Sexual Traits ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Brood Rearing ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Female Tree ◽  
Baseline Corticosterone ◽  
Sexual Characteristics ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Secondary Sexual

AbstractThe production of high quality secondary sexual traits can be constrained by trade-offs in the allocation of energy and nutrients with other metabolic activities, and is mediated by physiological processes. In birds, the factors influencing male plumage quality have been well studied; however, factors affecting female plumage quality are poorly understood. Furthermore, it remains uncertain which physiological traits mediate the relationship between body condition and ornaments. In this three-year study of after-second-year female tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), we investigated (1) the relationship between baseline corticosterone near the end of the brood-rearing period (CORTBR) and feather colour characteristics (hue, saturation, brightness) the following year, and (2) the relationship between baseline corticosterone measured during incubation (CORTI) and brood rearing (CORTBR), and feather colour in the same year. To control for reproductive effort, we included reproductive parameters as covariates in all analyses. In this first study between CORT and the plumage colour characteristics of a species bearing iridescent feathers, we did not find any relationship between CORTBRand the colour of subsequently-produced feathers, nor did we find any relationship between CORTIand the colour of feathers displayed during that breeding season. If CORT levels at the end of breeding carry over to influence the immediately subsequent moult period as we expect, our results generally indicate that structural plumage quality may not be as sensitive to circulating CORT levels compared to carotenoid-based colouration. Future studies, particularly those employing experimental manipulations of CORT during moult in species with iridescent traits, are necessary to fully determine the role glucocorticoids play in mediating the quality of secondary sexual characteristics.

Experimentally altering pre-breeding sex steroids reduces extra-pair paternity in female tree swallows

Ethology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 124 (6) ◽  
pp. 410-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisha L. Berzins ◽  
J. Mark Shrimpton ◽  
Russell D. Dawson
Keyword(s):  
Sex Steroids ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Extra Pair Paternity ◽  
Female Tree

Aggression, superterritories, and reproductive success in tree swallows

1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (10) ◽  
pp. 2072-2078 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reid N. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Reproductive Output ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Nestling Growth ◽  
Territorial Aggression ◽  
Nest Boxes ◽  
Nestling Period ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Insular Population

The relationship between territorial aggression and reproductive success was studied on a well-established, insular population of tree swallows. Four treatments of nest boxes that differed in interbox distances were created. Short interbox distances significantly reduced the occupancy of nest boxes both between and within years. Swallows in short interbox distance treatments defended more than one nest box, which was an additional resource not necessary for their successful reproduction. Excluded potential breeders attempted to colonize vacant boxes within another swallow's territory throughout the nestling period, but were usually prevented by the aggression of the resident pair. Aggressive activity had no direct effect on three measures of a swallow's reproductive output: percent young fledged, nestling growth, and fledgling weights. The concept of intraspecific aggressive neglect is questioned. However, by excluding potential breeders from nesting, for whatever reason, breeding tree swallows increased their relative genetic contribution to future generations.

Temperature and life history: experimental heating leads female tree swallows to modulate egg temperature and incubation behaviour

2009 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R. Ardia ◽  
Jonathan H. Pérez ◽  
Elise K. Chad ◽  
Margaret A. Voss ◽  
Ethan D. Clotfelter
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Incubation Behaviour ◽  
Female Tree

Experimentally altered plumage brightness of female tree swallows: a test of the differential allocation hypothesis

Behaviour ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 153 (5) ◽  
pp. 525-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisha L. Berzins ◽  
Russell D. Dawson
Keyword(s):  
Parental Care ◽  
Brood Size ◽  
Tachycineta Bicolor ◽  
Differential Allocation ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Agonistic Interactions ◽  
Brood Size Manipulation ◽  
Fledging Success ◽  
Female Attractiveness ◽  
Female Tree

The differential allocation hypothesis posits that individuals should invest in the current reproductive attempt according to the attractiveness of their mate, but studies of allocation by males when female traits are manipulated to be more attractive are lacking. In the current study, we experimentally enhanced and reduced the plumage brightness of female tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) relative to controls to examine whether males adjust investment in parental care according to female attractiveness, while simultaneously performing a brood size manipulation. Contrary to our predictions, we found no evidence that males provisioned nestlings according to the plumage brightness of females. However, we found that nestling quality and fledging success were lowest when female plumage brightness was reduced and brood size was enlarged. This may be due to the plumage brightness treatment influencing agonistic interactions with other females, and may suggest that plumage brightness is a signal assessed by females.

scholarly journals Baseline corticosterone does not reflect iridescent plumage traits in female tree swallows

2019 ◽  
Vol 270 ◽  
pp. 123-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keneth Sarpong ◽  
Christine L. Madliger ◽  
Christopher M. Harris ◽  
Oliver P. Love ◽  
Stéphanie M. Doucet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Female Tree ◽  
Baseline Corticosterone

Infanticide in Female Tree Swallows: A Role for Sexual Selection

The Condor ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 93 (2) ◽  
pp. 454-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew A. Chek ◽  
Raleigh J. Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Female Tree

Within-season and age-related patterns of reproductive performance in female tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor)

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 827-834 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bridget J. Stutchbury ◽  
Raleigh J. Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Reproductive Performance ◽  
Tachycineta Bicolor ◽  
Foraging Efficiency ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Age Classes ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Female Tree ◽  
Second Year

In many species of birds, clutch size decreases as the season progresses, but this is confounded by the fact that young birds not only often have smaller clutches but also breed later than older females. We examined the effect of time of season on clutch size, hatching success, and fledging success of female tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) in their second year (SY) and after their second year (ASY), and compared their reproductive performance while controlling for time of season. For both SY and ASY females, clutch size decreased significantly with later first egg dates, which caused number hatched and number fledged per brood to also decline as the season progressed. However, neither the proportion of eggs hatched nor the proportion of young fledged was correlated with first egg date. The within-season decline in clutch size was not due simply to replacement clutches or female age, and we argue that it is also not due to a decrease in food abundance over the breeding season. Age-related differences in reproductive success depended on the time of season. Early in the breeding season, ASY females were superior to SY females in every measure of reproductive performance; however, there were no significant differences between age-classes late in the season. ASY females were more successful than SY females in raising clutches of five or six eggs, which were most common early in the season, but there was no difference between age-classes in raising clutches of four eggs. We suggest that an age-related difference in foraging efficiency and within-season changes in the cost of competition could explain this pattern.

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