Planet of Birds

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) Science Article 15 abstract A frequently hypothesized but poorly studied cost of multiple mating in birds is thatexposure to pathogenic sexually transmitted microbes (STM’s) can lower reproductive success.Conversely, female birds may benefit from high frequencies of copulation and multiple copulationpartners if they receive cloacal inoculations of beneficial STM’s that can either […]

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) Science Article 4 abstract We examined the average annual lay, hatch, and fledge dates of tree swallows(Tachycineta bicolor) breeding in Creamer’s Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge inFairbanks, AK from 2000 through 2008. From 2000 to 2008, lay and hatch dateexhibited a significant negative relationship, indicating that the timing of swallowreproduction has advanced […]

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) Science Article 11 abstract Age-related differences in plumage characteristics of birds can be the result of differential survival of more ornamented individuals, within-individual changes in plumage attributes with age, or a combination of both. In this study, we investigated age-class related differences in plumage attributes of male tree swallows Tachycineta bicolor […]

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) Science Article 12 abstract Poor breeding success often increases dispersal, but there is conflicting evidenceabout the putative adaptive benefi ts of dispersal behavior. Thus, observational and experimentaldata were analyzed to test whether breeding success (number of young fl edging) infl uencedbreeding and natal dispersal by Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), using information […]

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) Science Article 13 abstract Past and continuing discharges of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have contaminated the natural resources of the Hudson River. The Hudson River Natural Resource Trustees – New York State, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Department of the Interior – are conducting a natural resource damage assessment […]

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) Science Article 8 abstract Much previous research has focussed on the role of food supply in determining thegrowth and the survival of avian offspring. More recently, acid deposition in someecosystems has demonstrated that in addition to energy, birds also need to acquiresufficient nutrients such as calcium to be successful. Whether procurement […]

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) Science Article 16 abstract Despite considerable interest in its occurrence or potential occurrence (e.g., Lorenz 1963), both direct and circumstantial evidence of intraspecific killing in adult passerinesis rare (see Davis 1940, Cottrille 1950, Grubbs 1977, Loflin 1982). The purpose of this note is to add to this meager data base by […]

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) Science Article 14 abstract The environment experienced during ontogeny has a significant impact on the physiological condition of offspring. This, in turn, forecasts survival probabilities and future reproductive potential. Despite the prominent role that the concept of condition plays in evolutionary studies, the physiological and biochemical characters that define it remain […]

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) Science Article 2 abstract The fact that avian eggs contain antibody of maternal origin is well documented, but only recently has this phenomenon been considered in an ecological context. We used tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) to examine the possibility of transgenerational immunity and its effect on nestling growth and immune development. […]

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) Science Article 17 abstract We reduced or increased tree swallow, Tachycineta bicolor (Vieillot, 1808), clutch sizes by three eggs (50% of modal clutch size) to test experimentally for relationships between stress and parasite loads. In the first year of the study (1996), we enumerated two measures of stress (granulocyte to non-granulocyte […]