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Contrasting sensitivity of nestling and fledgling Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica body mass to local weather conditions

Facey, Richard J.; Vafidis, Jim O.; Smith, Jeremy A.; Vaughan, Ian P.; Thomas, Robert J.

Authors

Richard J. Facey

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Jim Vafidis Jim.Vafidis@uwe.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Conservation Science

Jeremy A. Smith

Ian P. Vaughan

Robert J. Thomas



Abstract

Local weather can influence the growth and development of young birds either indirectly, by modifying prey availability, or directly, by affecting energetic trade-offs. Such effects can have lasting implications for life history traits, but the nature of these effets may vary with the developmental stage of the birds, and over timescales from days to weeks. We examined the interactive effects of temperature, rainfall and wind speed on the mass of nestling and fledgling Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica both on the day of capture and averaging weather across the time since hatching. At the daily timescale, nestling mass was negatively correlated with temperature, but the strength of this association depended on the level of rainfall and wind speed; nestlings were typically heavier on dry or windy days, and the negative effect of temperature was strongest under calm or wet conditions. At the early lifetime timescale (i.e. from hatching to pre-fledging), nestling mass was negatively correlated with temperature at low wind speed. Fledgling body mass was less sensitive to weather; the only weather effect evident was a negative correlation with temperature at the daily scale under high rainfall that became slightly positive under low rainfall. These changes are consistent with weather effects on theavailability and distribution of insects within the landscape (e.g. causing high concentrations of flying insects) and with the effects of weather variation on nest microclimate. These results together demonstrate the impacts of weather on chick growth, over immediate (daily) and longer term (nestling/fledgling lifetime) timescales. This shows that sensitivity to local weather conditions varies across the early lifetime of young birds (nestling–fledgling stages) and illustrates the mechanisms by which larger scale (climate) variations influence the body condition of individuals.

Citation

Facey, R. J., Vafidis, J. O., Smith, J. A., Vaughan, I. P., & Thomas, R. J. (2020). Contrasting sensitivity of nestling and fledgling Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica body mass to local weather conditions. Ibis, 62(4), 1163-1174. https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12824

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Feb 19, 2020
Online Publication Date Feb 26, 2020
Publication Date Oct 1, 2020
Deposit Date Mar 19, 2020
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Ibis
Print ISSN 0019-1019
Electronic ISSN 1474-919X
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 62
Issue 4
Pages 1163-1174
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12824
Keywords Animal Science and Zoology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/5694522

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Copyright Statement
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Facey, R. J., Vafidis, J. O., Smith, J. A., Vaughan, I. P., & Thomas, R. J. (2020). Contrasting sensitivity of nestling and fledgling Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica body mass to local weather conditions. Ibis, 62(4), 1163-1174. doi: 10.1111/ibi.12824 , which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12824. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.




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