The reproductive success of tree swallows nesting near experimentally acidified lakes in northwestern Ontario

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 1090-1097 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent L. St. Louis ◽  
Jon C. Barlow
Keyword(s):  
Egg Production ◽  
Hatching Success ◽  
Wing Length ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Potentially Toxic Metals ◽  
Growth Functions ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Acidified Lakes ◽  
Reference Lakes

We examined a number of reproductive parameters of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) breeding near experimentally acidified lakes in northwestern Ontario. We found that near acidified lakes, eggs were smaller in certain dimensions, hatching success was lower (and by definition fewer nestlings fledged per nest box), certain nestling body characters were smaller 4 days posthatch, nestling wing length was shorter near time of fledging, and growth functions were different from those near unmanipulated reference lakes. These results are consistent with earlier findings that calcium-rich food items needed for egg production by laying females and growth of nestlings are more scarce at acidified lakes than at nonacidic reference lakes, and that potentially toxic metals accumulate to higher concentrations both in the chironomids that swallows consume and in nestling swallows at acidified lakes. Our results clearly show that even nonaquatic organisms are affected by acidification of freshwater ecosystems.

Maternal influences on size and emergence time of the cinnabar moth

1980 ◽  
Vol 58 (8) ◽  
pp. 1452-1457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura J. Richards ◽  
Judith H. Myers
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variance ◽  
Hatching Success ◽  
Wing Length ◽  
Female Parent ◽  
Female Offspring ◽  
Pupal Weight ◽  
Emergence Time ◽  
Egg Weight ◽  
Maternal Influences ◽  
Cinnabar Moth

Maternal effects on egg weight, wing length, and emergence time were studied in the cinnabar moth. Egg weight was related to hatching success, but neither egg weight nor order of laying were related to pupal weight of larvae reared under greenhouse conditions. Heritabilities of wing length and emergence time calculated from the regression of mean offspring values on female parent were 0.30 ± 0.12 and 0.39 ± 0.14 respectively for female offspring. Regressions for male offspring were not significant. Significant differences between families in an ANOVA however were indicative of genetic variance. Genetic variance for female emergence time is discussed as one mechanism which has enabled synchronization of moth emergence with the appropriate phase of food plant phenology for larval development.

scholarly journals The Role of Development, Parental Behavior, and Nestmate Competition in Fledging of Nestling Tree Swallows

The Auk ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 996-1002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trista Michaud ◽  
Marty Leonard
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Rate ◽  
Wing Length ◽  
Parental Behavior ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Major Step ◽  
Sibling Interactions ◽  
Nestling Development ◽  
Altricial Birds

Abstract Fledging (i.e. leaving the nest) in altricial birds is a major step toward independence. The timing of this important event may be influenced by nestling development, parental behavior, and sibling interactions. In this study, we examine the effect of these factors on fledging in Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). Wing length explained a significant proportion of the variance in fledging age across broods. Similarly, within broods, longer-winged nestlings fledged before shorter-winged nestlings. Feeding rate per nestling did not decrease in the period leading up to fledging, as might be expected if parents stimulated fledging by decreasing their feeding rate. Parental activity near the nest varied in that the frequency of parental passes and hovers within 1 m of the nest opening increased in the period before fledging. Brood size also explained a significant proportion of the variance in fledging age independent of wing length, although the direction of the relationship was not consistent across years. Finally, longer-winged nestlings spent more time in the nest opening and initiated fledging of the brood more often than did shorter-winged nestlings. Overall, our study suggests that nestling development is the most important determinant of fledging age in this species. Once a critical wing length has been reached, sibling interactions, and possibly parental behavior, may influence the timing of fledging.

Effects of Experience and Body Weight on Incubation Behavior of Canada Geese

The Auk ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 670-679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas W. Aldrich ◽  
Dennis G. Raveling
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Hatching Success ◽  
Important Variable ◽  
Canada Geese ◽  
Critical Weight ◽  
Incubation Behavior ◽  
Risk Of Predation ◽  
First Time ◽  
Foraging Time

Abstract During 1979 and 1980, we studied the incubation behavior and body-weight dynamics of captive Canada Geese (Branta canadensis moffitti) with known breeding histories. Females were attentive to their nests for 97.5% of the incubation period and lost 27% of their initial body weight. Heavier females were more attentive to their nests and lost more weight during incubation than did lighter females. Variation in body weight among females was greatest at the onset of incubation and least at hatch, which suggests that females invested maximum reserves in incubation. Recess frequency and duration increased throughout incubation, resulting in more foraging time for the female. Once a lower critical weight of about 3,200 g was reached, the amount of recess time taken increased dramatically, probably because lipid reserves were depleted. Females nesting for the first time began incubation at a lighter body weight and were less attentive than experienced females. All inexperienced females were either 4 or 5 yr old, but their egg production (4 eggs) was that of 2- or 3-yr-old wild females. This indicated that experience rather than age was the important variable affecting acquisition of reserves. Inattentiveness to a nest by a female prolongs the duration of incubation and exposes the nest to a greater risk of predation. The inability of inexperienced females to gain enough reserves to provide for both maximum clutch size and attentiveness during incubation may be a major explanation for the lower hatching success of geese nesting for the first time.

scholarly journals Natural Variation in Flight Performance is Related to Timing of Breeding in Tree Swallows (Tachycineta Bicolor) in New York

The Auk ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 121 (2) ◽  
pp. 345-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa S. Bowlin ◽  
David W. Winkler
Keyword(s):  
Egg Production ◽  
Natural Variation ◽  
Performance Test ◽  
Tachycineta Bicolor ◽  
Laying Date ◽  
Flight Performance ◽  
Individual Quality ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Flight Ability ◽  
Clutch Initiation

Abstract In many avian species, including Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), females that lay eggs earlier in the season have higher fitness. It has been hypothesized that nonheritable variation in individual quality could explain how variation in laying date persists in the face of this apparently directional selection. Previous experimental work on Tree Swallows has suggested that natural variation in flight ability enables early-laying females to attain feeding rates high enough to support egg production on earlier, sparser food than later-laying females. We tested that hypothesis with standardized flights through a 9.75-m flight-performance test tunnel. One group of female swallows was tested at the height of the breeding season on 28 May regardless of their nesting phenology; another group was tested on the 11th day of incubation. Average acceleration in the tunnel was negatively correlated with clutch initiation date for the females tested on 28 May. Daily variation in ambient environmental conditions had strong effects on swallow flight performance in the tunnel, and no relationship was observed in the day-11 birds. Because natural variation in foraging performance is correlated with variation in female Tree Swallows' clutch initiation dates, flight ability appears to be a key element of individual quality in this species.

Parasitism, immune response, and egg production of the spearhead bluet (Coenagrion hastulatum) damselfly

2017 ◽  
Vol 95 (5) ◽  
pp. 367-372
Author(s):  
Kari M. Kaunisto ◽  
Pipsa Kaunisto ◽  
Jaakko J. Ilvonen ◽  
Jukka Suhonen
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Parasite Species ◽  
Wing Length ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Water Mites ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Different Populations ◽  
Individual Size

Theoretical models predict that parasites reduce reproductive success of their hosts, but very few empirical studies have given support to this. Using the spearhead bluet (Coenagrion hastulatum (Charpentier, 1825)) damselfly, we tested how immune response, wing length, and the number of both endo- and ecto-parasites affect egg production of host damselflies. The study was conducted with four different populations in southwest Finland. We found a negative association between endoparasitic gregarines and number of host eggs. Furthermore, immune response increased with the number of water mites, but decreased with the number of eggs. Contrary to previous studies with other damselfly species, the number of ectoparasitic water mites did not affect the number of eggs. Moreover, wing length, used as an indicator of individual size, was not associated with egg numbers. The negative effect of gregarine parasites on egg numbers is likely to affect the composition of host populations, i.e., damselflies that show higher resistance to these endoparasites will have more of their offspring represented in subsequent generations. In future, more experimental research on the varying effects of different parasite species on the number of eggs is needed.

Egg production and hatching success in North Adriatic Sea populations of the copepod acartia clausi

2002 ◽  
Vol 18 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 117-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Miralto ◽  
Adrianna Ianora ◽  
Isabella Buttino ◽  
Giovanna Romano ◽  
Mario Di Pinto
Keyword(s):  
Egg Production ◽  
Hatching Success ◽  
Adriatic Sea ◽  
Acartia Clausi ◽  
North Adriatic Sea

Polyandry increases reproductive performance but does not decrease survival in female Brontispa longissima

2016 ◽  
Vol 107 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Kawazu ◽  
W. Sugeno ◽  
A. Mochizuki ◽  
S. Nakamura
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Performance ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Hatching Success ◽  
Multiple Mating ◽  
Preoviposition Period ◽  
Extreme Polyandry ◽  
Single Mating ◽  
Female Longevity ◽  
Experimental Treatments ◽  
Direct And Indirect Benefits

AbstractThe costs and benefits of polyandry are still not well understood. We studied the effects of multiple mating on the reproductive performance of female Brontispa longissima (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), one of the most serious pests of the coconut palm, by using three experimental treatments: (1) singly-mated females (single treatment); (2) females that mated 10 times with the same male (repetition treatment); and (3) females that mated once with each of 10 different males (polyandry treatment). Both multiple mating treatments resulted in significantly greater total egg production and the proportion of eggs that successfully hatched (hatching success) than with the single mating treatment. Furthermore, the polyandry treatment resulted in greater total egg production and hatching success than with the repetition treatment. Thus, mate diversity may affect the direct and indirect benefits of multiple mating. Female longevity, the length of the preoviposition period, the length of the period from emergence to termination of oviposition, and the length of the ovipositing period did not differ among treatments. The pronounced fecundity and fertility benefits that females gain from multiple mating, coupled with a lack of longevity costs, apparently explain the extreme polyandry in B. longissima.

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