Urbanization mediates the effects of water quality and climate on a model aerial insectivorous bird

Sullivan, Sean; Corra, Joseph W.; Hayes, Jeffry T.

doi:10.1002/ecm.1442

Cited by 12 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 127 publications

(181 reference statements)

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“…While our analysis of emergent aquatic insects indicated strong influences of land use and water quality in streams, the relationships between bird abundances and emergent insects were more nuanced and species-specific, especially with respect to the emergent insect metric we generated in this analysis and the majority of bird species (Figures 3A, 4A). This finding is in contrast to evidence that indicates many aerial insectivorous birds, and to some degree, other insectivorous birds, are highly reliant on aquatic-to-terrestrial subsidies (e.g., Kautza and Sullivan, 2016;Schilke et al, 2020;Sullivan et al, 2021). Our ability to detect this reliance with publicly available biomonitoring data was potentially hampered in several ways.…”

Section: Detecting Cross-boundary Effects Of Poor Water Quality Remaimentioning

confidence: 69%

“…The complexity of local food webs could also mediate aerial insectivore-emergent insectivore relationships. Sullivan et al (2021) found that adult Tree Swallows at urban sites fed at significantly higher trophic positions than those at protected sites, implicating a suite of complex factors including local climate, water quality, and insect body-size preferences. Similarly, many riparian swallow species tend to forage over open water vs. heavily canopied areas (Alberts et al, 2013).…”

Section: Detecting Cross-boundary Effects Of Poor Water Quality Remaimentioning

confidence: 95%

“…This guild of birds is experiencing widespread population declines (reviewed in Nebel et al, 2010;Sauer et al, 2017a), but identifying the mechanisms underpinning these declines remains a difficult task. Numerous explanations for aerial insectivore declines have been proposed, including nesting and over-wintering habitat loss, airborne pollutants, widespread pesticide use associated with insect-population collapse, climatic shifts, and land-use change (Hallmann et al, 2014(Hallmann et al, , 2017Sullivan et al, 2021); many of these causes are likely to be acting in concert (Spiller and Dettmers, 2019). Whereas the precise causes for declines in several aerial insectivorous birds remain unknown, a shared reliance on flying insects and population declines across species within the foraging guild implicates decreasing or fluctuating insect food quantity or quality (Paquette et al, 2013;Twining et al, 2018;Schilke et al, 2020; but see Imlay et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Conservation Across Aquatic-Terrestrial Boundaries: Linking Continental-Scale Water Quality to Emergent Aquatic Insects and Declining Aerial Insectivorous Birds

Manning

Sullivan

2021

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Larval aquatic insects are used to assess water quality, but less attention is paid to their adult, terrestrial life stage, which is an important food resource for declining aerial insectivorous birds. We used open-access water-quality, aquatic-invertebrate, and bird-survey data to study how impaired water quality can emanate from streams and lakes through changes in aquatic insect communities across the contiguous United States. Emergent insect relative abundance was highest across the West, in northern New England, and the Carolinas in streams, and highest near the Great Lakes, parts of the Southwest, and northern New England for lakes. Emergent insects declined with sedimentation, roads, and elevated ammonium concentrations in streams, but not lakes. The odds that a given taxon would be non-emergent increased by up to 2.0× as a function of pollution tolerance, underscoring the sensitivity of emergent aquatic insects to water-quality impairment. However, relationships between bird populations and emergent insects were generally weak for both streams and lakes. For streams, we observed the strongest positive relationships for a mixture of upland and riparian aerial insectivorous birds such as Western Wood-Pewee, Olive-sided Flycatcher, and Acadian Flycatcher and the strongest negative association for Purple Martin. Different avian insectivores responded to emergent insect abundances in lakes (e.g., Barn Swallow, Chimney Swift, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Common Nighthawk). In both streams and lakes, we observed stronger, but opposing, relationships between several aerial insectivores and the relative abundance of sensitive insect orders (E)phemeroptera, (P)lecoptera, and (T)richoptera (positive), and pollution tolerant individuals (negative). Overall, our findings indicate that emergent insects are negatively correlated with pollution tolerance, suggesting a large-scale loss of this nutritional subsidy to terrestrial environments from impaired aquatic ecosystems. While some bird populations tracked scarcities of emergent aquatic insects, especially EPT taxa, responses varied among species, suggesting that unique habitat and foraging behaviors likely complicated these relationships. Strengthening spatial and temporal concordance between emergent-insect and bird-survey data will improve our ability to interpret species-level responses over time. Thus, our analysis highlights the need for developing conservation and biomonitoring strategies that consider the cross-ecosystem effects of water quality declines for threatened insectivorous avifauna and other terrestrial wildlife.

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Section: Detecting Cross-boundary Effects Of Poor Water Quality Remaimentioning

confidence: 69%

Section: Detecting Cross-boundary Effects Of Poor Water Quality Remaimentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Conservation Across Aquatic-Terrestrial Boundaries: Linking Continental-Scale Water Quality to Emergent Aquatic Insects and Declining Aerial Insectivorous Birds

Manning

Sullivan

2021

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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“…Population losses are especially pronounced among aerial insectivores, a guild comprising swallows, swifts, flycatchers and nightjars, in both North America ( Nebel et al , 2010 ) and Europe ( Bowler et al , 2019 ). Multiple drivers are likely contributing to these population declines ( Norris et al , 2021 ; Sullivan et al , 2021 ). The observed decline in North American aerial insectivorous birds intensifies along a northeastward gradient ( Nebel et al , 2010 ), implicating climate change as one driver of population shifts ( Cox et al , 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, Rodewald et al (2013 ) revealed that the aerial insectivorous Acadian flycatcher ( Empidonax virescens ) fledged fewer young in riparian zones along an urbanization gradient. Riparian urban-breeding birds with a high reliance on emergent aquatic insects may also suffer from higher contaminant loads ( Alberts et al , 2013 ; Sullivan et al , 2021 ). Overall, detrimental impacts to nestling development, physiological condition and nest survival have been identified among riparian-nesting birds relative to gradients of urbanization (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temperature and land use influence tree swallow individual health

Corra

Sullivan

2021

Conservation Physiology

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Aerial insectivorous bird populations have declined precipitously in both North America and Europe. We assessed the effects of insect prey availability, climate and shifts in water quality associated with urbanization on haematocrit, haemoglobin concentration and heterophil–lymphocyte (H/L) ratios among ~13-day-old tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) nestlings in the Columbus, Ohio area. Higher mean temperature and increased frequency of extreme heat days during the early breeding period (May–June) were linked to reduced nestling physiological condition as evidenced by lower concentrations of haemoglobin and haematocrit, potentially due to increased heat stress, shifts in insect prey availability or altered parental provisioning efforts. Urbanization and the size and density of emergent aquatic insects were associated with elevated physiological stress, whereas higher mean temperatures and terrestrial insect size were related to lower stress as measured by H/L ratios. Overall, these findings highlight the complex environmental conditions driving nestling health, which may be indicative of post-fledging survival and, consequently, population growth. Our results underscore the need for conservation approaches that adequately address the interrelated effects of changes in climate, land use and food resources on aerial insectivorous birds.

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Ecological drivers of nesting behavior in a subtropical city: An observational study on spotted doves

Sheng,

Lu,

Bai

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Due to rapid homogenization in habitat types as a result of urbanization, some urban birds adapt their nesting strategies to changes in local habitat characteristics. Bird nesting decisions might have been mainly linked to resource constraints and ensuring reproductive success. In this study, we examined patterns of nesting behavior by spotted doves (Spilopelia chinensis) in a rapidly urbanizing area of Nanchang, China using ArcGIS 10.8, satellite tracking, camera traps, and field survey. To explore the mechanisms underlying nesting behavior in urban habitats, we assessed the correlations between nest reuse and reproductive success, and between nest reuse and nest predation. From December 2018 to December 2021, a total of 302 breeding nests were surveyed. The results revealed that the nest reuse rate was 38.08% (n = 115). Nests closer to trunk, with lower nest position and higher large‐scale urbanization score tended to have higher reuse rate. In addition, nests with the higher the nest height and percent of canopy cover, and the lower small‐scale urbanization score were more likely to reproduce successfully, and the reused nests also reproduce more successfully. The reproductive success associated with nest reuse was significantly higher than that associated with new nests (χ2 = 8.461, p = .004). High degree of urbanization promoted nest reuse of spotted doves (large‐scale urbanization score, z = 2.094, p = .036), which apparently enhanced their reproductive success (nest reuse, z = 2.737, p = .006). In conclusion, a nest structure with good permeability is the material basis for the nest reuse in spotted dove, while the relatively low risk of predation in urban habitat and the scarcity of nest site resources due to urbanization increase the tendency of birds to reuse old nests, which is associated with their reproductive success and evolutionary fitness.

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Urbanization mediates the effects of water quality and climate on a model aerial insectivorous bird

Abstract: Animal ID TEWB Specimen Arsenic WB (ppb) Cadmium WB (ppb) Lead WB (ppb) Mercury WB (ppb) Selenium, Whole Blood (ng/mL)

Cited by 12 publications

References 127 publications

Conservation Across Aquatic-Terrestrial Boundaries: Linking Continental-Scale Water Quality to Emergent Aquatic Insects and Declining Aerial Insectivorous Birds

Conservation Across Aquatic-Terrestrial Boundaries: Linking Continental-Scale Water Quality to Emergent Aquatic Insects and Declining Aerial Insectivorous Birds

Temperature and land use influence tree swallow individual health

Ecological drivers of nesting behavior in a subtropical city: An observational study on spotted doves

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