Tree swallow diet in relation to wetland acidity

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (10) ◽  
pp. 2629-2637 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Blancher ◽  
Donald K. McNicol
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Major Change ◽  
Tachycineta Bicolor ◽  
Tree Swallow ◽  
Total Biomass ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Nestling Diet ◽  
Aquatic Food ◽  
Emerging Insects

We examined 12 825 prey of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) northeast of Sudbury, Ontario, to observe the importance of aquatic food and the influence of wetland pH on swallow diet during the breeding season. Items of aquatic origin constituted most of the biomass in diets of both nestlings and adults. Molluscs and Ephemeroptera (mayflies), whose distributions in the study wetlands were strongly influenced by pH, were eaten by swallows, particularly nestlings. The major change in nestling diet in relation to wetland acidity was a decrease in mayflies and a corresponding increase in aquatic Diptera at wetlands of lower pH. The number of aquatic taxa eaten by nestlings was lowest at acidic wetlands. The total biomass of emerging insects captured at acidic wetlands was not lower than at wetlands of higher pH, and in fact tended to be greater. The rate at which swallows fed their young and the amount of food fed to nestlings were not related to wetland pH or other wetland characteristics. Nevertheless, the reduced availability of calcium-rich foods at acidic wetlands and the change in types of food available may play a role in the reduced reproductive success of swallows at acidic wetlands.

scholarly journals Diet of the Nestling Tree Swallow

The Condor ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 106 (2) ◽  
pp. 423-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean M. Mengelkoch ◽  
Gerald J. Niemi ◽  
Ronald R. Regal
Keyword(s):  
Open Water ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Tachycineta Bicolor ◽  
Tree Swallow ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Larval Stages ◽  
Terrestrial Origin ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Foraging Radius

Abstract Dietary samples from nestling Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) in northwestern Minnesota were compared to invertebrate availability as measured by aerial tow nets. The majority of the biomass in the nestlings' diet was adult insects with larval stages of aquatic origin, while absolute numbers of insects of both aquatic and terrestrial origin were similar. Orders of invertebrates in the diet and available were similar in number but not in biomass. Diet showed little variation by time of day, date of sampling or the age of the nestling. The mean number of odonates in the nestling Tree Swallows' diet increased exponentially as the percentage of open water and open water + cattail marsh increased within a 400-m foraging radius. Dieta de los Pichones de Tachycineta bicolor Resumen. Se compararon muestras dietarias de pichones de la golondrina Tachycineta bicolor tomadas en el noroeste de Minnesota con la disponibilidad de invertebrados medida con redes aéreas. La mayor parte de la biomasa en la dieta de los pichones correspondió a insectos adultos con estadíos larvales de origen acuá tico, mientras que los números absolutos de insectos de origen acuático y no acuático fueron similares. Los órdenes de invertebrados presentes en la dieta y disponibles en el ambiente fueron similares en números pero no en biomasa. La dieta mostró poca variación entre horas del día, fechas de muestreo o edad de los pichones. El número promedio de odonatos en la dieta de los pichones de T. bicolor aumentó exponencialmente a medida que se incrementó el porcentaje de agua abierta y de agua abierta + pantanos de espadañas dentro de un radio de forrajeo de 400 m.

Influence of agricultural intensification on prey availability and nestling diet in Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor)

2018 ◽  
Vol 96 (9) ◽  
pp. 1053-1065 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Bellavance ◽  
M. Bélisle ◽  
J. Savage ◽  
F. Pelletier ◽  
D. Garant
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Intensification ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Prey Selection ◽  
Landscape Composition ◽  
Tachycineta Bicolor ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Nestling Diet ◽  
Aerial Insectivores ◽  
Abundance And Diversity ◽  
The Impact

Over the last decades, aerial insectivorous birds have been declining in both North America and Europe. Those declines have been hypothetically attributed to a decrease in prey availability caused by agricultural intensification, but empirical evidence remains scarce. Here, we quantify the effect of landscape composition on the abundance and diversity of potential prey of Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor (Vieillot, 1808)) and on nestling diet in southern Quebec, Canada. We collected food boluses from nestlings and compared their composition with spatiotemporally corresponding samples from traps on farms distributed along a gradient of agricultural intensification. The diet of nestlings was mostly composed of Diptera, both in biomass and abundance, but by mid-June, these decreased with increasing proportions of intensively cultivated crops within 500 m of the nests. Trap catches for Diptera and all arthropods combined followed the same trends. Yet, the associations between Diptera subgroups (Nematocera, non-schizophoran Brachycera, Schizophora (Calyptratae), and Schizophora (Acalyptratae)) and landscape composition differed between traps and boluses, suggesting that prey selection was altered by agricultural intensification. Our results suggest that agriculture can alter the availability of preferred prey for aerial insectivores, and further studies should evaluate the impact of prey availability to explain the decline of aerial insectivores.

scholarly journals A meta-analysis of relationships between polychlorinated biphenyl exposure and performance across studies of free-ranging tree swallows ( Tachycineta bicolor )

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 150634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances Bonier
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Polychlorinated Biphenyl ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Tree Swallow ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Bioindicator Species ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Pcb Exposure

Habitats worldwide are increasingly being degraded by human activities, with environmental pollution representing a significant threat to species and ecosystems. The presence of persistent organic chemicals, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), has generated concern. Captive experiments and field studies have reported some evidence for detrimental effects of PCB exposure, but also significant variation across studies and species. Here, I use a meta-analytical approach to combine findings across 10 studies investigating effects of PCBs on performance (e.g. reproductive success, offspring growth) in free-ranging tree swallows, a common bioindicator species that accumulates high levels of PCBs at some contaminated sites. Contrary to predictions, five complementary analyses revealed no significant negative association between PCB exposure and performance in tree swallows. In fact, in one analysis, increased PCB exposure was associated with improved reproductive success. Possible explanations for these findings include several limitations of field studies, variation in the toxicity of different PCB congener mixtures found across sites included in the analysis, and variation in the degree of tolerance of PCB exposure among species (with high tolerance found in tree swallows). At this point, the available evidence from field studies does not demonstrate negative impacts of PCB exposure on tree swallow performance.

Influence of intraclutch egg-mass variation and hatching asynchrony on relative offspring performance within broods of an altricial bird

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (12) ◽  
pp. 1721-1726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre-Paul Bitton ◽  
Russell D. Dawson ◽  
Erin L. O’Brien
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Tachycineta Bicolor ◽  
Hatching Asynchrony ◽  
Egg Mass ◽  
Passerine Birds ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Mass Variation ◽  
Offspring Performance ◽  
Asynchronous Hatching ◽  
Rates Of Growth

Rates of growth and size of nestlings at fledging have important consequences for future survival and reproductive success in many passerine birds. Within broods of altricial species, these characteristics are often influenced by size hierarchies established early in the nesting period due to hatching asynchrony and within-clutch variation in egg mass, but the concurrent effect of these factors is poorly understood. We investigated the relative influence of these variables on nestling performance within broods of tree swallows, Tachycineta bicolor (Vieillot, 1808). Nestlings that hatched earlier within nests were heavier and larger than their later-hatched siblings at 4 days of age. Similarly, earlier-hatched nestlings grew their ninth primary flight feathers faster and had longer ninth primaries just prior to fledging than did later-hatched siblings. Differences in egg mass of siblings also contributed to mass and size hierarchies at 4 days of age, but did not affect any other difference in sibling performance. We conclude that within-clutch variation in performance of offspring is determined primarily by size hierarchies resulting from asynchronous hatching. Intraclutch egg-mass variation appears to have little effect on performance of siblings and may be best explained by proximate constraints on females.

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.

A test of the genetic compatibility hypothesis with tree swallows, Tachycineta bicolor

2005 ◽  
Vol 83 (7) ◽  
pp. 955-961 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colleen A Barber ◽  
Mandy J Edwards ◽  
Raleigh J Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Similarity ◽  
Hatching Success ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Tachycineta Bicolor ◽  
Tree Swallow ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Genetic Compatibility ◽  
Extra Pair Paternity ◽  
Socially Monogamous ◽  
Compatibility Hypothesis

The genetic compatibility hypothesis proposes that females should mate with genetically dissimilar males whose alleles best complement their own, resulting in greater offspring heterozygosity. It predicts that genetic similarity between social pairs will be positively related to the proportion of extra-pair young within broods and negatively related to hatching success. We tested these two predictions in tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor (Vieillot, 1808)) pairs (n = 72). Tree swallows have one of the highest rates of extra-pair paternity among socially monogamous passerines. Contrary to expectation, genetic similarity of a social pair, as measured by the band-sharing coefficient (estimated from multilocus DNA fingerprints), tended to be negatively related to the proportion of extra-pair young within broods, but failed to predict hatching success. When including only the subset of nests for which we had complete genotyping data (n = 37), we again found a significant negative relationship between genetic similarity and the proportion of extra-pair young within broods. Genetic similarity did not differ significantly between nests with and without extra-pair young, nor did it differ between nests with total versus partial hatching success. Overall, our data do not support the genetic compatibility hypothesis in tree swallows, and in fact show some evidence against it.

Individual and environmental determinants of reproductive success in male tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)

2014 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 733-742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andréanne Lessard ◽  
Audrey Bourret ◽  
Marc Bélisle ◽  
Fanie Pelletier ◽  
Dany Garant
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Tachycineta Bicolor ◽  
Tree Swallow ◽  
Environmental Determinants ◽  
Male Tree

scholarly journals Experimentally altered plumage brightness of female Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) influences nest site retention and reproductive success

2018 ◽  
Vol 96 (6) ◽  
pp. 600-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisha L. Berzins ◽  
Russell D. Dawson
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Nest Site ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Tachycineta Bicolor ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Nest Sites ◽  
Female Tree ◽  
Ornamental Traits

That ornamental traits of females can act as signals of quality has gained empirical support, but whether and how such ornaments of females mediate social interactions with conspecifics remains less clear. Female Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor (Vieillot, 1808)) aggressively compete for and defend nest sites, and as such, nest site intrusions by conspecific females challenging ownership of a nest may prevent territory-owning females from dishonestly displaying ornamented plumage. We tested whether plumage brightness of female Tree Swallows influences nest site retention and reproductive success by experimentally enhancing or reducing their plumage brightness relative to controls prior to breeding. Females with reduced brightness were more likely to retain their nests sites and breed relative to control females and females with experimentally enhanced brightness. Females displaying enhanced brightness also tended to initiate clutches later than females with control and reduced brightness. Overall, lower nest site retention and reproductive success for females with enhanced brightness is consistent with social costs imposed on individuals dishonestly signalling high quality. Future studies in female birds should consider whether costs of losing a nest site to intruding conspecific females, especially in species where nest sites are limited, is a mechanism that maintains the honesty of signals of quality.

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