The effects of nest size and insulation on thermal properties of tree swallow nests

Windsor, Rebecca L.; Fegely, Jessica L.; Ardia, Daniel R.

doi:10.1111/j.1600-048x.2013.05768.x

Cited by 55 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Tree swallows are wellknown for lavishly (and quite variably) feathering their nests, and it has been proposed that feathers may serve as a physical barrier between ectoparasites in the nesting material and the nestlings above (Winkler 1993). However, feathering has been shown to correlate positively with parasite load because blowflies prefer warm nests ) and feathered nests tend to be warmer than unfeathered nests (Hilton et al 2004, Windsor et al 2013. In our study, however, we found no relationship between nest feathering and blowfly intensity, thus providing no support for either alternative hypothesis.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 88%

Avoidance, tolerance, and resistance to ectoparasites in nestling and adult tree swallows

DeSimone

Clotfelter

Black

et al. 2018

Journal of Avian Biology

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We examined avoidance, tolerance, and resistance strategies of nestling and adult tree swallows Tachycineta bicolor in response to ectoparasitic blowflies Protocalliphora sialia. Tree swallows avoided settling in north-facing nest boxes early in the breeding season. These boxes were more likely to be parasitized later in the season, suggesting that box selection may facilitate blowfly avoidance. After experimentally manipulating blowfly intensity, we found that nestlings were generally tolerant of parasitism. Parasites significantly reduced nestling blood hemoglobin but had no effect on nestling body mass, primary feather growth, age at fledging, or fledging success. Parents of parasitized nestlings did not increase their food provisioning rate to promote nestling tolerance. Adult female tree swallows demonstrated both tolerance and resistance: blowfly parasitism had no effect on adult hemoglobin and body mass, and those with higher P. sialia-binding antibody levels had fewer blowfly larvae in their nests. Nestling antibodies were unrelated to blowfly intensity. Despite considerable variation among years, our results suggest that the costs of blowfly parasitism to nestling and adult tree swallows are modest, and limited to blood loss in nestlings. Future work should examine the effects of reduced blood hemoglobin on fledgling survival and the importance of parasite-specific antibodies.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 88%

Avoidance, tolerance, and resistance to ectoparasites in nestling and adult tree swallows

DeSimone

Clotfelter

Black

et al. 2018

Journal of Avian Biology

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“…Meanwhile, nestlings in experimental nests with added feathers were structurally larger at prefledging than nestlings in control nests, suggesting that feathers provided thermal benefits that resulted in increased nestling growth (Dawson et al 2011). This conclusion was supported in an observational study that demonstrated that nests with more feathers and with deeper nest cups cooled at slower rates than nests with fewer feathers and shallow nest cups (Windsor et al 2013). Experimental nests, in which feathers were removed, contained nestlings that were lighter and had shorter tarsi and wing chords than nestlings in control nests.…”

Section: Nest Construction Materialsmentioning

confidence: 85%

The design and function of birds' nests

Mainwaring

Hartley

Lambrechts

et al. 2014

Ecology and Evolution

332

346

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All birds construct nests in which to lay eggs and/or raise offspring. Traditionally, it was thought that natural selection and the requirement to minimize the risk of predation determined the design of completed nests. However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that sexual selection also influences nest design. This is an important development as while species such as bowerbirds build structures that are extended phenotypic signals whose sole purpose is to attract a mate, nests contain eggs and/or offspring, thereby suggesting a direct trade-off between the conflicting requirements of natural and sexual selection. Nest design also varies adaptively in order to both minimize the detrimental effects of parasites and to create a suitable microclimate for parents and developing offspring in relation to predictable variation in environmental conditions. Our understanding of the design and function of birds' nests has increased considerably in recent years, and the evidence suggests that nests have four nonmutually exclusive functions. Consequently, we conclude that the design of birds' nests is far more sophisticated than previously realized and that nests are multifunctional structures that have important fitness consequences for the builder/s.

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“…Birds are therefore under strong selection pressures to select a nest site and construct nests that provide suitable thermal conditions for embryonic development. Parental brooding behaviors can regulate nest microclimates, but such behaviors are energetically costly and parents can mitigate these demands by altering the design of nests in relation to predictable variation in environmental conditions (Mertens, 1977;Møller, 1984;Lombardo, 1994;Hilton et al, 2004;Dawson et al, 2011;Heenan and Seymour, 2012;Ardia, 2013;Heenan, 2013;Windsor et al, 2013;Cruz et al, 2016).…”

Section: Environmental Adjustmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Causes and Consequences of Intraspecific Variation in Nesting Behaviors: Insights from Blue Tits and Great Tits

Mainwaring

2017

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Nest building is an important and yet under-studied stage of the reproductive cycle in many taxa, including birds, and whilst we have a decent understanding of interspecific variation in avian nesting behaviors, our understanding of intraspecific variation in nesting behaviors is much less developed. This is largely because an insufficient number of studies have been performed on any one species to draw robust conclusions. Fortunately, though, the amount of research on the nesting behaviors of nestbox-breeding blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and great tits (Parus major) has increased dramatically in recent years and their nesting behaviors are now sufficiently well-studied to offer useful insights into intraspecific variation in avian nesting behaviors. Studies show that individuals of both species select nest sites based on the presence and/or absence of conspecifics and heterospecifics and whilst neighbors were assumed to adversely affect focal individuals by competing for resources, they are now considered beneficial as they provide information about habitat quality and contribute to anti-predator defenses. Nest-building females accurately gauge local weather conditions and respond to predictable variation in environmental conditions by building nests with variable amounts of cup lining material to create suitable nest microclimates for nestlings. Meanwhile, both species vary the amount of aromatic plant materials in their nests in relation to the abundance of nest-dwelling parasites and pathogens and as aromatic plant materials also play a role in sexual selection then nest materials can have multiple functions. The height of nests is negatively correlated with the local risk of predation but whilst predator avoidance favors lower nests, sexual selection favors taller nests. In fact, higher quality females build taller nests that contain more green plant material which in turn influences the amount of care provided by males. This suggests there is considerable intraspecific variation in nesting behaviors in blue and great tits, and in birds generally, and highlights that birds are adept at adaptively varying their nesting behaviors in response to multiple factors. There is, however, a paucity of evidence directly linking such variation in nest building behaviors to reproductive success or fitness more broadly and so further studies could usefully examine such links because trade-offs between competing selection pressures may constrain adaptive nesting behaviors.

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The effects of nest size and insulation on thermal properties of tree swallow nests

Cited by 55 publications

References 35 publications

Avoidance, tolerance, and resistance to ectoparasites in nestling and adult tree swallows

Avoidance, tolerance, and resistance to ectoparasites in nestling and adult tree swallows

The design and function of birds' nests

Causes and Consequences of Intraspecific Variation in Nesting Behaviors: Insights from Blue Tits and Great Tits

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