Immunocompetence and Nestling Survival in the House Martin: The Tasty Chick Hypothesis

Oikos ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe Christe ◽  
Anders Pape Møller ◽  
Florentino de Lope ◽  
Anders Pape Moller
Keyword(s):  
Nestling Survival ◽  
House Martin

Common House-Martin (Delichon urbicum)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josep del Hoyo ◽  
Angela Turner ◽  
Guy M. Kirwan ◽  
Nigel Collar
Keyword(s):  
House Martin ◽  
Common House

Fitness costs of an immune response in the house martin (Delichon urbica)

2007 ◽  
Vol 61 (10) ◽  
pp. 1573-1580 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfonso Marzal ◽  
Maribel Reviriego ◽  
Florentino de Lope ◽  
Anders Pape Møller
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Fitness Costs ◽  
Delichon Urbica ◽  
House Martin

Co-infections by malaria parasites decrease feather growth but not feather quality in house martin

2013 ◽  
pp. no-no ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfonso Marzal ◽  
Muhammad Asghar ◽  
Laura Rodríguez ◽  
Maribel Reviriego ◽  
Ignacio G. Hermosell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Malaria Parasites ◽  
Feather Growth ◽  
House Martin

Fledgling sex-ratio is biased towards the helping sex in a Neotropical cooperative breeder, the brown-and-yellow marshbird (Pseudoleistes virescens)

Behaviour ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Myriam E. Mermoz ◽  
Cecilia Villarruel ◽  
Alicia de la Colina ◽  
Bettina Mahler
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Breeding Success ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Adaptive Strategy ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Cooperatively Breeding ◽  
Nestling Survival ◽  
Biased Sex Ratio ◽  
Communal Areas ◽  
Breeding Seasons

Abstract In many cooperatively breeding species, helpers increase the breeding success of their parents. The repayment hypothesis predicts a skewed sex-ratio towards the helping sex at population level; at individual level bias would increase in broods attended by a smaller number of helpers. We studied a brown-and-yellow marshbird (Pseudoleistes virescens) population during 11 breeding seasons. We found that 90% of helpers were males and that they increased nestling survival, although this effect disappeared in presence of parasitic shiny cowbirds. Helpers sometimes helped at nests of adults other than their parents. Population sex-ratio of fledglings was highly skewed towards males (1.4:1). At individual level, male-biased sex-ratio of fledglings was more pronounced early in the season and increased with brood losses but was not affected by number of helpers. Marshbirds feed at communal areas so retaining helpers would not be costly. Therefore, a general skew towards males might be the best adaptive strategy.

Development of nestling blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) is affected by experimental addition of aromatic plants

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 44-48
Author(s):  
Bárbara A Pires ◽  
Anabela DF Belo ◽  
Fernanda Diamantino ◽  
João E Rabaça ◽  
Santiago Merino
Keyword(s):  
Resource Competition ◽  
Aromatic Plants ◽  
Aromatic Plant ◽  
Tarsus Length ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Nestling Development ◽  
Nestling Survival ◽  
Effect Of Treatment ◽  
Blue Tits

Some passerines incorporate aromatic plants in their nest cups, and several hypotheses have been formulated to explain this behaviour. One of those, the Drug Hypothesis, states that aromatic plants present in nests have positive effects on nestlings’ development through increased immune function. In this study, we aimed to examine if experimental addition of aromatic plants had positive effects on reproductive performance (the number of fledglings produced and nestling survival rate) and nestling development (weight and tarsus length). In addition, we study whether those potential effects were more noticeable in different brood sizes–small and large–through an observational approach. We expect that large broods, due to increased resource competition between nestlings, will benefit more from aromatic plant incorporation, as compared to small broods. Nestlings were significantly heavier in 2015 as compared to 2016 and 2017 and in small broods. No effect of treatment was observed in nestling weight. Although there was no overall effect of treatment on nestling tarsus length, nestlings from aromatic nests had significantly longer tarsi as compared to nestlings from control nests, in large broods.

scholarly journals Wake structure and wingbeat kinematics of a house-martin Delichon urbica

2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (15) ◽  
pp. 659-668 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Rosén ◽  
G.R Spedding ◽  
A Hedenström
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Laminar Flows ◽  
Frequency Model ◽  
Wake Structure ◽  
Global Circulation ◽  
Weight Support ◽  
House Martin ◽  
Lifting Surfaces ◽  
Thrush Nightingale ◽  
Slender Wing

The wingbeat kinematics and wake structure of a trained house martin in free, steady flight in a wind tunnel have been studied over a range of flight speeds, and compared and contrasted with similar measurements for a thrush nightingale and a pair of robins. The house martin has a higher aspect ratio (more slender) wing, and is a more obviously agile and aerobatic flyer, catching insects on the wing. The wingbeat is notable for the presence at higher flight speeds of a characteristic pause in the upstroke. The essential characteristics of the wing motions can be reconstructed with a simple two-frequency model derived from Fourier analysis. At slow speeds, the distribution of wake vorticity is more simple than for the other previously measured birds, and the upstroke does not contribute to weight support. The upstroke becomes gradually more significant as the flight speed increases, and although the vortex wake shows a signature of the pause phase, the global circulation measurements are otherwise in good agreement with surprisingly simple aerodynamic models, and with predictions across the different species, implying quite similar aerodynamic performance of the wing sections. The local Reynolds numbers of the wing sections are sufficiently low that the well-known instabilities of attached laminar flows over lifting surfaces, which are known to occur at two to three times this value, may not develop.

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