scholarly journals Thermal Environment of the Nest During Development of Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) Chicks

The Auk ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 119 (3) ◽  
pp. 845-851
Author(s):  
Susan B. Chaplin ◽  
Mora L. Cervenka ◽  
Alison C. Mickelson

Abstract We continuously recorded temperatures of the nest cup (Tn) and air (Ta) just outside the nest box throughout development of Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) chicks in east-central Minnesota. Brood size was manipulated (three or six chicks per nest) to study the effect of number of chicks in the nest on its thermal environment. From day 0 to day 4, Tn paralleled Ta, approximately 2–7°C higher, with nocturnal Tn maintained at 24°C and daytime Tn maintained at 26°C. From day 6 to day 12, Tn was relatively constant throughout the day, maintained at 32°C (day) and 29°C (night). The Tn became increasingly independent of Ta, as determined by regression analysis of Tn versus Ta with age. Nocturnal Tn of larger clutches (six chicks) was ∼2°C warmer than smaller clutches (three chicks), and Tn of larger clutches exhibited greater independence from Ta at day 10 than in smaller clutches. The occurrence of nest homeothermy at day 10 in six-chick nests correlates with near-maximal body mass of chicks and completion of feather insulation. Small (three-chick) clutches showed greater dependence of Tn on Ta at 10–12 days of age than large (six-chick) clutches; we propose that development of thermoregulatory capacity may have proceeded more slowly in chicks from those nests.

2020 ◽  
Vol 134 (3) ◽  
pp. 217-221
Author(s):  
Kestrel V.B. DeMarco ◽  
Paul R. Martin

The ecology of Pustulated Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus pustulatus, Coleoptera: Silphidae) appears distinct among Nicrophorus species, with evidence of it parasitizing snake eggs and foraging primarily above the ground and into the forest canopy. Here we document an extension of its aberrant ecology and behaviour: a case of N. pustulatus burying 2-day-old live and dead nestlings of Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor, Passeriformes: Hirundinidae) under the nest, behaviour consistent with the early stages of breeding in N. pustulatus. Based on different levels of decomposition, we suspect that N. pustulatus responded to one dead swallow nestling in the brood of five and went on to bury all of the nestlings at the bottom of the nest box. The observation provides the first evidence, to our knowledge, of Nicrophorus burying live vertebrates.


2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 468-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan H Pérez ◽  
Daniel R Ardia ◽  
Elise K Chad ◽  
Ethan D Clotfelter

Investment in one life-history stage can have delayed effects on subsequent life-history stages within a single reproductive bout. We experimentally heated tree swallow ( Tachycineta bicolor ) nests during incubation to test for effects on parental and nestling conditions. Females incubating in heated boxes maintained higher body condition and fed nestlings at higher rates. We cross-fostered nestlings and found that young nestlings (4–7 days old) incubated in heated nests had higher body condition and body mass, regardless of treatment status of their rearing parent. However, older nestlings which were fed by heated females maintained higher condition and body mass regardless of treatment status of their incubating parent. These results indicate that investment in one life-history stage can have multiple pathways of carry-over effects on future life-history stages.


The Auk ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 119 (3) ◽  
pp. 845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan B. Chaplin ◽  
Mora L. Cervenka ◽  
Alison C. Mickelson

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Winkler ◽  
Kelly K. Hallinger ◽  
Daniel R. Ardia ◽  
R. J. Robertson ◽  
B. J. Stutchbury ◽  
...  

Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 288
Author(s):  
Wojciech Rusek ◽  
Joanna Baran ◽  
Justyna Leszczak ◽  
Marzena Adamczyk ◽  
Rafał Baran ◽  
...  

The main goal of our study was to determine how the age of children, puberty and anthropometric parameters affect the formation of body composition and faulty body posture development in children. The secondary goal was to determine in which body segments abnormalities most often occur and how gender differentiates the occurrence of adverse changes in children’s body posture and body composition during puberty. The study group consisted of 464 schoolchildren aged from 6–16. Body posture was assessed with the Zebris system. The composition of the body mass was tested with Tanita MC 780 MA body mass analyzer and the body height was measured using a portable stadiometer PORTSTAND 210. The participants were further divided due to the age of puberty. Tanner division was adopted. The cut-off age for girls is ≥10 years and for boys it is ≥12 years. The analyses applied descriptive statistics, the Pearson correlation, stepwise regression analysis and the t-test. The accepted level of significance was p < 0.05. The pelvic obliquity was lower in older children (beta = −0.15). We also see that age played a significant role in the difference in the height of the right pelvis (beta = −0.28), and the difference in the height of the right shoulder (beta = 0.23). Regression analysis showed that the content of adipose tissue (FAT%) increased with body mass index (BMI) and decreased with increasing weight, age, and height. Moreover, the FAT% was lower in boys than in girls (beta negative equal to −0.39). It turned out that older children (puberty), had greater asymmetry in the right shoulder blade (p < 0.001) and right shoulder (p = 0.003). On the other hand, younger children (who were still before puberty) had greater anomalies in the left trunk inclination (p = 0.048) as well as in the pelvic obliquity (p = 0.008). Girls in puberty were characterized by greater asymmetry on the right side, including the shoulders (p = 0.001), the scapula (p = 0.001) and the pelvis (p < 0.001). In boys, the problem related only to the asymmetry of the shoulder blades (p < 0.001). Girls were characterized by a greater increase in adipose tissue and boys by muscle tissue. Significant differences also appeared in the body posture of the examined children. Greater asymmetry within scapulas and shoulders were seen in children during puberty. Therefore, a growing child should be closely monitored to protect them from the adverse consequences of poor posture or excessive accumulation of adipose tissue in the body.


1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (10) ◽  
pp. 2540-2547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathaniel T. Wheelwright ◽  
Joanna Leary ◽  
Caragh Fitzgerald

We investigated the effect of brood size on nestling growth and survival, parental survival, and future fecundity in tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) over a 4-year period (1987–1990) in an effort to understand whether reproductive trade-offs limit clutch size in birds. In addition to examining naturally varying brood sizes in a population on Kent Island, New Brunswick, Canada, we experimentally modified brood sizes, increasing or decreasing the reproductive burdens of females by two offspring. Unlike previous studies, broods of the same females were enlarged or reduced in up to 3 successive years in a search for evidence of cumulative costs of reproduction that might go undetected by a single brood manipulation. Neither observation nor experiment supported the existence of a trade-off between offspring quality and quantity, in contrast with the predictions of life-history theory. Nestling wing length, mass, and tarsus length were unrelated to brood size. Although differences between means were in the direction predicted, few differences were statistically significant, despite large sample sizes. Nestlings from small broods were no more likely to return as breeding adults than nestlings from large broods, but return rates of both groups were very low. Parental return rates were also independent of brood size, and there was no evidence of a negative effect of brood size on future fecundity (laying date, clutch size). Reproductive success, nestling size, and survival did not differ between treatments for females whose broods were manipulated in successive years. Within the range of brood sizes observed in this study, the life-history costs of feeding one or two additional nestlings in tree swallows appear to be slight and cannot explain observed clutch sizes. Costs not measured in this study, such as the production of eggs or postfledging parental care, may be more important in limiting clutch size in birds.


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-232
Author(s):  
Janatin Hastuti ◽  
Neni Trilusiana Rahmawati ◽  
Rusyad Adi Suriyanto

Background: Weight status perception associates with objective weight status and is important in the management of weight control. To date, perception of weight status among Indonesian youths has not been reported.Objectives: This study aimed to examine the association between body mass index and weight status perception in a sample of college students in Yogyakarta Province.Materials and Methods: A sample of 209 boys and 269 girls of college students in Yogyakarta Province were measured for their stature and body weight. Body mass index was calculated (BMI). Data of demographic, exercise, and diet were collected. Weight status perception was based on participant responses to a question regarding how they classified their own body size as underweight, normal, overweight, or obese. Ordinal regression analysis was performed to evaluate factors associated with weight status misperception among boys and girls.Results: Overall, 43.5% of boys and 37.5% of girls misclassified their own weight status by actual BMI. Of particular note, 75.9% of obese boys and 78.6% of obese girls underestimated their weight status as overweight or normal weight. Whereas, 9.1% and 23.4% of normal weight boys and girls respectively, overestimated their weight status. Ordinal regression analysis revealed that, weight status misperception from others was significantly contributed (p<0.01) to misperception of weight status among boys and girls with OR of 10.31 and 8.13 respectively. Diet practicing was significantly correlated with weight status misperception in boys (p<0.05) with an OR of 19.57.Conclusions: Weight status misperception was prevalent among normal weight and obese students. Obese students of both gender and normal weight boys tended to underestimate their weight status, whereas normal weight girls were likely to overestimate their weight status.Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.16(2) 2017 p.225-232


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