Timing, Nest Site Selection and Multiple Breeding in House Martins: Age-Related Variation and the Preference for Self-Built Mud Nests

Piersma, Theunis

doi:10.5253/078.101.0103

Cited by 9 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Timing of breeding is one of the most important determinants of organismal fitness. Across a broad variety of taxa, the decision of when to breed determines what food resources will be abundant during each stage of reproduction (e.g., mink, Ben‐David 1997; sea ducks, Love et al 2010), the types and variety of nest sites available for breeding (e.g., house martins, Piersma 2013), the prevalence of parasites and predators that may harm the adult or its offspring (e.g., squirrels and hares, O’Donoghue and Boutin 1995; cliff swallows, Brown and Brown 1999), and the energy budget available for investment into other life history traits (e.g., wheatears, Low et al 2015). Previous researchers have documented the many costs associated with breeding at suboptimal times (blue tits, Nilsson 1994; sandpipers, McKinnon et al 2012; owls, Toyama et al 2015), and the importance of proper timing has become especially clear in circumstances in which environmental conditions have recently deviated from historical norms (e.g., flycatchers, Both and Visser 2001; swallows, Brown and Brown 2000; grouse, Ludwig et al 2006; deer, Plard et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Full lifetime perspectives on the costs and benefits of lay‐date variation in tree swallows

Winkler

Hallinger

Pegan

et al. 2020

Ecology

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Animals must balance various costs and benefits when deciding when to breed. The costs and benefits of breeding at different times have received much attention, but most studies have been limited to investigating short‐term season‐to‐season fitness effects. However, breeding early, versus late, in a season may influence lifetime fitness over many years, trading off in complex ways across the breeder’s lifespan. In this study, we examined the complete life histories of 867 female tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) breeding in Ithaca, New York, between 2002 and 2016. Earlier breeders outperformed later breeders in short‐term measures of reproductive output and offspring quality. Though there were weak indications that females paid long‐term future survival costs for breeding early, lifetime fledgling output was markedly higher overall in early‐breeding birds. Importantly, older females breeding later in the season did not experience compensating life history advantages that suggested an alternative equal‐fitness breeding strategy. Rather, most or all of the swallows appear to be breeding as early as they can, and differences in lay dates appear to be determined primarily by differences in individual quality or condition. Lay date had a significant repeatability across breeding attempts by the same female, and the first lay date of females fledged in our population was strongly influenced by the first lay date of their mothers, indicating the potential for ongoing selection on lay date. By examining performance over the entire lifespan of a large number of individuals, we were able to clarify the relationship between timing of breeding and fitness and gain new insight into the sources of variability in this important life history trait.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Full lifetime perspectives on the costs and benefits of lay‐date variation in tree swallows

Winkler

Hallinger

Pegan

et al. 2020

Ecology

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“…2005, Imlay et al . 2018), although lower than the 91% nest success rate for House Martins observed by Piersma (2013). Our data suggest that the proportion of second broods may have declined.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

“…Although triple‐brooding has been reported in studies elsewhere in Europe (Pajuelo et al . 1992, Piersma 2013), we believe this is the first study to provide evidence of triple brooding attempts for House Martins breeding in the UK. Using the probability of attempting two broods and the probability of nest success as measures of breeding performance, we show that the breeding performance of House Martins is driven by a combination of nest‐specific, landscape and weather variables.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

“…House Martins nesting in previously used nests was more likely to be multi‐brooded and successful. One explanation for this might be that older birds are the first to occupy existing nests (Piersma 2013) and are more experienced at building nests and rearing broods, and thus more likely to have high reproductive success (Forslund & Pärt 1995). The findings that birds nesting in previously used nests have an increased breeding performance are in line with work carried out on House Martins elsewhere (Bryant 1979, Piersma 2013) and on other hirundines (Safran 2006, Teglhøj 2018), where old nests are generally taken up early and produce multiple broods with more nestlings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Using citizen science to assess drivers of Common House Martin Delichon urbicum breeding performance

Kettel

Woodward

Balmer

et al. 2020

Ibis

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Many hirundine (swallows and martins) species are declining throughout their ranges. The Common House Martin Delichon urbicum is a migratory hirundine that breeds throughout Europe but has shown recent declines in some parts of the UK, particularly in the south. We conducted a large‐scale citizen science survey to assess how the breeding performance of House Martins, measured by the number of attempted broods and nest success, is influenced by nest‐specific, landscape and weather factors. Pairs in eastern parts of the UK started breeding earlier than those in the west, and breeding performance was higher in eastern regions. There was no effect of latitude on either aspect of breeding performance, so our measures of breeding performance alone do not help to explain differences in population trends across the UK. The probability of attempting multiple broods and producing successful nests was higher in previously used nests than in newly built nests, and in artificial nests than in natural nests. Nests built on plastic soffits of buildings were less likely to be multi‐brooded and less likely to be successful compared with other materials. Suggested conservation measures therefore include discouraging the removal of old nests and encouraging the installation of artificial nests, particularly on buildings with plastic soffits. This study provides comprehensive insight into the breeding biology of House Martins, and although our findings do not show conclusively that breeding performance is the sole driver of population trends, they go some way to explain declines in House Martins and ultimately provide information that may help conserve this species.

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“…Why do House Martins Delichon urbicum prefer stinking old mud nests over clean strong artificial nests made of wood-concrete? Why do they choose the very nests that carry a load of louse fly Crataerina hirundinis pupae, parasites which as soon as they feel the warmth of returning martins will develop into serious bloodsucking monsters (Summers 1975, Piersma 2013?…”

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confidence: 99%

Ornithology from the Flatlands

2018

Ardea

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Timing, Nest Site Selection and Multiple Breeding in House Martins: Age-Related Variation and the Preference for Self-Built Mud Nests

Abstract: Citation for published version (APA): Piersma, T. (2013). Timing, nest site selection and multiple breeding in House Martins: age-related variation and the preference for self-built mud nests. Ardea, 101(1), 23-32.

Cited by 9 publications

References 25 publications

Full lifetime perspectives on the costs and benefits of lay‐date variation in tree swallows

Full lifetime perspectives on the costs and benefits of lay‐date variation in tree swallows

Using citizen science to assess drivers of Common House Martin Delichon urbicum breeding performance

Ornithology from the Flatlands

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