No effect of insect abundance on nestling survival or mass for three aerial insectivores

Imlay, Tara L.; Mann, Hilary A. R.; Leonard, Madeleine

doi:10.5751/ace-01092-120219

Cited by 37 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 55 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Relying upon environmental sources of HUFA during the nestling period may make Tree Swallows and related species uniquely susceptible to phenological mismatches between their chicks' nutritional needs and the nutritional composition of prey items, perhaps even contributing to recent sustained population declines. Past studies focusing on total insect biomass have found only minimal effects of food availability on aerial insectivore breeding success (Dunn et al 2011;Nocera et al 2012;Imlay et al 2017). We also found that variation in terrestrial and total insect biomass, which increased steadily over the breeding season (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

“…; Imlay et al . ). We also found that variation in terrestrial and total insect biomass, which increased steadily over the breeding season (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…; Imlay et al . ) have generally treated insects as nutritionally equivalent. Our previous (Twining et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We also found that variation in the availability of terrestrial insects, which contain similar levels of ALA, but much lower levels of HUFA compared to aquatic insects, has little detectable effect on variation in nestling success (Table 1). Previous studies of Tree Swallows and other wild birds and their food resources (Dunn et al 2011;Nocera et al 2012;Paquette et al 2013;Imlay et al 2017) have generally treated insects as nutritionally equivalent. Our previous (Twining et al 2016a(Twining et al , 2018 and current work shows that aquatic and terrestrial insects are likely not nutritionally equivalent for wild birds and that the terrestrial-aquatic dichotomy in fatty acid composition can have major effects on breeding success in nature for terrestrial species that rely in part on aquatic resources.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Aquatic insects rich in omega‐3 fatty acids drive breeding success in a widespread bird

2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ecologists studying bird foraging ecology have generally focused on food quantity over quality. Emerging work suggests that food quality, in terms of highly unsaturated omega‐3 fatty acids (HUFA), can have equally important effects on performance. HUFA, which are present in aquatic primary producers, are all but absent in vascular plants, and HUFA content is also correspondingly higher in aquatic insects. Here, we show that Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) chicks rapidly accumulate HUFA from food during the nestling period. Using data sampled over 24 years, we also show that Tree Swallow breeding success is positively associated with the availability of HUFA‐rich aquatic insects. Variation in aquatic insect biomass during chick development was a strong predictor of fledging success, whereas variation in terrestrial insects had little effect on fledging success. Our results highlight the potential for nutritional mismatches between insectivores and high‐quality prey to affect avian reproductive performance.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

“…; Imlay et al . ). We also found that variation in terrestrial and total insect biomass, which increased steadily over the breeding season (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…; Imlay et al . ) have generally treated insects as nutritionally equivalent. Our previous (Twining et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Aquatic insects rich in omega‐3 fatty acids drive breeding success in a widespread bird

2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We also included nest-monitoring data for Tree Swallows from two long-term study sites on Kent Island, New Brunswick (1987-2006Wheelwright and Schultz 1994) and near Wolfville, Nova Scotia (1988-1990, 1994-2013Leonard and Horn 1996), and for all four species from several sites around Sackville, New Brunswick (2014-2016Saldanha 2016, Imlay et al 2017. MNRS volunteers in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia recorded data on the number of eggs and nestlings in the nests of all four species during one or more nest checks over the breeding season.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breeding phenology and performance for four swallows over 57 years: relationships with temperature and precipitation

et al. 2018

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Climate change can drive population declines for many species, often through changes to their food supply. These changes can involve a mis-timing between periods of high food demand and peak food availability, typically from advances in breeding phenology, and/or an overall reduction in food availability. Aerial insectivores, birds that feed on insects caught in flight, are experiencing steep population declines possibly because of shifts in the timing and/or abundance of aerial insects. We determined whether changes in breeding performance over time could account for declines in Bank Riparia riparia, Barn Hirundo rustica, Cliff Petrochelidon pyrrhonota, and Tree Tachycineta bicolor Swallows, and if so, whether changes were related to shifts in breeding phenology and/or climate change. We compared breeding performance and phenology in Maritime Canada before (1962)(1963)(1964)(1965)(1966)(1967)(1968)(1969)(1970)(1971)(1972) and after (2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016) the onset of steep population declines during the mid-1980s, to determine whether breeding performance was reduced or phenology was advanced. Then, we modeled relationships between temperature, precipitation, breeding phenology, and performance for Barn and Tree Swallows, the only species with sufficient data, from 1960 to 2016, to determine whether phenology and performance were related to climatic conditions. Between the two time periods, we found significantly lower performance in Bank Swallows, higher performance in Barn and Tree Swallows, and unchanged performance in Cliff Swallows. We also found clutch initiation dates advanced by 8-10 d for all species except Bank Swallows. On the breeding grounds, warmer winter temperatures for Tree Swallows and less winter precipitation for Barn and Tree Swallows in a given year were associated with earlier breeding, and for Tree Swallows, changes in nestling survival. Otherwise, Barn and Tree Swallow breeding performance was unaffected by winter temperature and precipitation. Our results suggest that in this region poorer breeding performance could contribute to population declines for Bank Swallows but not for the other three species.

show abstract

Year‐round weather alters nest‐provisioning rates in a migratory owl

Stein

Midway

Linkhart

2023

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As global temperatures and precipitation become more extreme, habitat specialists are at particular risk of being pushed past their environmental tolerance limits. Flammulated Owls (Psiloscops flammeolus) are small migratory owls that breed in temperate conifer forests of western North America. Their highly specialized nesting and foraging requirements make them indicators of ecosystem health. Using 17 years of nest observations, we investigated how annual weather patterns affected Flammulated Owl nesting and foraging behaviors during the breeding season. We used generalized linear models with a changepoint parameter to evaluate nest provisioning and nestling growth rates in years of extreme temperature and precipitation. We also evaluated how adult mass, division of labor, and productivity varied based on precipitation and temperature. Compared to wet and warm years, adults made more frequent prey deliveries to nestlings in dry and cold years, particularly early in the night and early in the season, and they experienced earlier changepoints in these years. We found a significant effect of temperature on the number of fledglings in broods, but weather did not affect other variables including productivity, nestling growth rates, adult masses, and division of labor. Our findings suggest that extreme annual weather patterns influence insect prey availability during the Flammulated Owl breeding season, forcing adults to work harder to provision for nests during dry and cold years. While productivity and nestling growth did not vary between years, these may incur a long‐term tradeoff in adult survival.

show abstract

No effect of insect abundance on nestling survival or mass for three aerial insectivores

Cited by 37 publications

References 55 publications

Aquatic insects rich in omega‐3 fatty acids drive breeding success in a widespread bird

Aquatic insects rich in omega‐3 fatty acids drive breeding success in a widespread bird

Breeding phenology and performance for four swallows over 57 years: relationships with temperature and precipitation

Year‐round weather alters nest‐provisioning rates in a migratory owl

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About