Replacement of body feathers is associated with low pre-migratory energy stores in a long-distance migratory bird, the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica)

AbstractTrace elements are widespread contaminants that can potentially threaten ecosystems and human health. Considering their distribution and toxicity, monitoring their presence in animals represents a priority in environmental risk assessment. Migratory birds have been suggested to be useful biomonitors for trace elements because they can provide information on contaminants even from remote areas that they may exploit during their life cycle. The aim of this study was to analyse the contamination fingerprint of trace elements of African non-breeding staging grounds and European breeding areas in a long-distance migratory passerine bird, the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica). We collected feathers grown in the African non-breeding grounds and those grown in the breeding areas of Northern Italy and measured the levels of 12 trace elements (Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se and Zn) by DRC-ICP-MS. Multivariate analysis showed that elemental profiles of feathers grown in African non-breeding areas and in the Italian breeding ones clearly differed, with feathers grown in Africa showing higher concentrations of Al, Cu, Fe, Mn and Ni, but lower concentrations of As, Se and Zn, compared to those grown in Italy. In addition, levels of trace elements were age-dependent, with higher levels in older individuals than in younger ones. Our results add to the growing evidence that feathers of long-distance migratory birds are useful tools to monitor trace elements contamination profiles across continents.

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Maintenance of livestock farming may buffer population decline of the Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica

Bird Conservation International ◽

10.1017/s0959270912000056 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. 411-428 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

ROBERTO AMBROSINI ◽

DIEGO RUBOLINI ◽

PAOLA TROVÒ ◽

GIOVANNI LIBERINI ◽

MARCO BANDINI ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Migratory Birds ◽

Population Decline ◽

Hirundo Rustica ◽

Barn Swallow ◽

Livestock Farming ◽

Long Distance ◽

Dramatic Decline ◽

Small Density ◽

Barn Swallows ◽

Agricultural Areas

SummaryPopulations of farmland and long-distance migratory birds have suffered steep, often dramatic, declines in the last few decades. The Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica is a small migratory farmland bird that breeds synanthropically in farms, particularly where livestock is reared. Populations of this species have suffered marked declines in different parts of its European breeding range. Here, we first report a dramatic decline of 8.4% per year of the number of breeding pairs and the extinction of 19.6% of the colonies in three agricultural areas in Northern Italy, which differ in general ecological conditions. This decline was estimated on a very large sample of 190 randomly chosen farms where breeding pairs were censused both in 2001 and 2010, and occurred at different rates in the three study areas. Barn Swallows declined most (9.3% per year) in an intensively cultivated area where colonies are widespread, and least (1.3% per year) in a hilly area with a comparatively small density of colonies. Variation in livestock farming significantly influenced population dynamics. Specifically, cessation of livestock farming at a given farm between the two census years resulted in a significantly steeper decline in the number of breeding pairs compared to farms where livestock farming was maintained. Our findings highlight the fact that European populations of Barn Swallows breeding in intensively cultivated agro-ecosystems may become significantly depleted in the next decades, and indicate that maintenance of livestock farming may contribute to buffering the population decline of this species.

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SMRT long reads and Direct Label and Stain optical maps allow the generation of a high-quality genome assembly for the European barn swallow (Hirundo rustica rustica)

GigaScience ◽

10.1093/gigascience/giy142 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Giulio Formenti ◽

Matteo Chiara ◽

Lucy Poveda ◽

Kees-Jan Francoijs ◽

Andrea Bonisoli-Alquati ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Population Genetics ◽

Single Molecule ◽

Genome Assembly ◽

Migratory Bird ◽

Hirundo Rustica ◽

Barn Swallow ◽

High Quality ◽

Optical Maps ◽

High Quality Genome ◽

Direct Label

Abstract Background The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is a migratory bird that has been the focus of a large number of ecological, behavioral, and genetic studies. To facilitate further population genetics and genomic studies, we present a reference genome assembly for the European subspecies (H. r. rustica). Findings As part of the Genome10K effort on generating high-quality vertebrate genomes (Vertebrate Genomes Project), we have assembled a highly contiguous genome assembly using single molecule real-time (SMRT) DNA sequencing and several Bionano optical map technologies. We compared and integrated optical maps derived from both the Nick, Label, Repair, and Stain technology and from the Direct Label and Stain (DLS) technology. As proposed by Bionano, DLS more than doubled the scaffold N50 with respect to the nickase. The dual enzyme hybrid scaffold led to a further marginal increase in scaffold N50 and an overall increase of confidence in the scaffolds. After removal of haplotigs, the final assembly is approximately 1.21 Gbp in size, with a scaffold N50 value of more than 25.95 Mbp. Conclusions This high-quality genome assembly represents a valuable resource for future studies of population genetics and genomics in the barn swallow and for studies concerning the evolution of avian genomes. It also represents one of the very first genomes assembled by combining SMRT long-read sequencing with the new Bionano DLS technology for scaffolding. The quality of this assembly demonstrates the potential of this methodology to substantially increase the contiguity of genome assemblies.

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SMRT long reads and Direct Label and Stain optical maps allow the generation of a high-quality genome assembly for the European barn swallow (Hirundo rustica rustica)

10.1101/374512 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Giulio Formenti ◽

Matteo Chiara ◽

Lucy Poveda ◽

Kees-Jan Francoijs ◽

Andrea Bonisoli-Alquati ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Population Genetics ◽

Single Molecule ◽

Genome Assembly ◽

Migratory Bird ◽

Hirundo Rustica ◽

Barn Swallow ◽

High Quality ◽

Optical Maps ◽

High Quality Genome ◽

Direct Label

ABSTRACTBackgroundThe barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is a migratory bird that has been the focus of a large number of ecological, behavioural and genetic studies. To facilitate further population genetics and genomic studies, here we present a reference genome assembly for the European subspecies (H. r. rustica).FindingsAs part of the Genome10K (G10K) effort on generating high quality vertebrate genomes, we have assembled a highly contiguous genome assembly using Single Molecule Real-Time (SMRT) DNA sequencing and several Bionano optical map technologies. We compared and integrated optical maps derived both from the Nick, Label, Repair and Stain and from the Direct Label and Stain (DLS) technologies. As proposed by Bionano, the DLS more than doubled the scaffold N50 with respect to the nickase. The dual enzyme hybrid scaffold led to a further marginal increase in scaffold N50 and an overall increase of confidence in the scaffolds. After removal of haplotigs, the final assembly is approximately 1.21 Gbp in size, with a scaffold N50 value of over 25.95 Mbp.ConclusionsThis high-quality genome assembly represents a valuable resource for further studies of population genetics and genomics in the barn swallow, and for studies concerning the evolution of avian genomes. It also represents one of the very first genomes assembled by combining SMRT long-read sequencing with the new Bionano DLS technology for scaffolding. The quality of this assembly demonstrates the potential of this methodology to substantially increase the contiguity of genome assemblies.

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Temporal changes in reproductive success and optimal breeding decisions in a long-distance migratory bird

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-78565-y ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Cynthia Reséndiz-Infante ◽

Gilles Gauthier

Keyword(s):

Reproductive Success ◽

Clutch Size ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Migratory Bird ◽

Laying Date ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Breeding Phenology ◽

Additional Time ◽

Long Distance ◽

Seasonal Decline

AbstractMany avian migrants have not adjusted breeding phenology to climate warming resulting in negative consequences for their offspring. We studied seasonal changes in reproductive success of the greater snow goose (Anser caerulescens atlantica), a long-distance migrant. As the climate warms and plant phenology advances, the mismatch between the timing of gosling hatch and peak nutritive quality of plants will increase. We predicted that optimal laying date yielding highest reproductive success occurred earlier over time and that the seasonal decline in reproductive success increased. Over 25 years, reproductive success of early breeders increased by 42%, producing a steeper seasonal decline in reproductive success. The difference between the laying date producing highest reproductive success and the median laying date of the population increased, which suggests an increase in the selection pressure for that trait. Observed clutch size was lower than clutch size yielding the highest reproductive success for most laying dates. However, at the individual level, clutch size could still be optimal if the additional time required to acquire nutrients to lay extra eggs is compensated by a reduction in reproductive success due to a delayed laying date. Nonetheless, breeding phenology may not respond sufficiently to meet future environmental changes induced by warming temperatures.

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Author Correction: Age-dependent carry-over effects in a long-distance migratory bird

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-94870-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Cosme López Calderón ◽

Javier Balbontín Arenas ◽

Keith A. Hobson ◽

Anders Pape Møller

Keyword(s):

Migratory Bird ◽

Long Distance ◽

Age Dependent ◽

Carry Over

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Flight speed, foraging efficiency, and daily energy budget of the Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z97-140 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 75 (7) ◽

pp. 1176-1183 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Horacio de la Cueva ◽

Robert W. Blake

Keyword(s):

Doppler Radar ◽

Flight Speed ◽

Hirundo Rustica ◽

Foraging Efficiency ◽

Barn Swallow ◽

Aerodynamic Model ◽

Daily Energy ◽

Energy Store ◽

The Mean ◽

Barn Swallows

Aerodynamic power equations predict optimal speeds at which birds ought to fly if they are to maximize time spent in the air on a given energy store (minimum power speed, Vmp), distance covered using a given amount of fuel (maximum range speed, Vmr), and rate of delivering food to the chicks in the nest (Vnest), or maximize the daily energy balance (VDBAL). With the aerodynamic model employed, these speeds are 5.3, 7.0, 7.9, and 8.9 m∙s−1, respectively, for the Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica. A comparison of the predicted flight speed with both the mean and median flight speeds (8 m∙s−1 in both cases; n = 821) recorded with Doppler radar indicates that Barn Swallows fly at speeds not significantly different from Vnest. The true sample size was unknown, and realistic sample sizes are drawn with bootstrap procedures and compared with those given by the number of measurements (821); no significant differences were found. To test the model, energy requirements for growth, prey density, and time spent foraging were varied independently in a sensitivity analysis. Large but realistic changes in these three variables do not contradict the model and predict speeds within the range measured in the field.

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