Trade-offs in the early development of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor): offspring characteristics, offspring quality, and parental care

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.

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EFFECTS OF PESTICIDE SPRAYING ON CHICK GROWTH, BEHAVIOR, AND PARENTAL CARE IN TREE SWALLOWS (TACHYCINETA BICOLOR) NESTING IN AN APPLE ORCHARD IN ONTARIO, CANADA

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry ◽

10.1897/1551-5028(2000)019<2286:eopsoc>2.3.co;2 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 19 (9) ◽

pp. 2286 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Christine A. Bishop ◽

Peggy Ng ◽

Pierre Mineau ◽

James S. Quinn ◽

John Struger

Keyword(s):

Parental Care ◽

Apple Orchard ◽

Growth Behavior ◽

Tachycineta Bicolor ◽

Tree Swallows ◽

Chick Growth

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Experimentally altered plumage brightness of female tree swallows: a test of the differential allocation hypothesis

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/1568539x-00003354 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 153 (5) ◽

pp. 525-550 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Lisha L. Berzins ◽

Russell D. Dawson

Keyword(s):

Parental Care ◽

Brood Size ◽

Tachycineta Bicolor ◽

Differential Allocation ◽

Tree Swallows ◽

Agonistic Interactions ◽

Brood Size Manipulation ◽

Fledging Success ◽

Female Attractiveness ◽

Female Tree

The differential allocation hypothesis posits that individuals should invest in the current reproductive attempt according to the attractiveness of their mate, but studies of allocation by males when female traits are manipulated to be more attractive are lacking. In the current study, we experimentally enhanced and reduced the plumage brightness of female tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) relative to controls to examine whether males adjust investment in parental care according to female attractiveness, while simultaneously performing a brood size manipulation. Contrary to our predictions, we found no evidence that males provisioned nestlings according to the plumage brightness of females. However, we found that nestling quality and fledging success were lowest when female plumage brightness was reduced and brood size was enlarged. This may be due to the plumage brightness treatment influencing agonistic interactions with other females, and may suggest that plumage brightness is a signal assessed by females.

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Strategic adjustment of parental care in tree swallows: life-history trade-offs and the role of glucocorticoids

Royal Society Open Science ◽

10.1098/rsos.160740 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 3 (12) ◽

pp. 160740 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Çağlar Akçay ◽

Ádám Z. Lendvai ◽

Mark Stanback ◽

Mark Haussmann ◽

Ignacio T. Moore ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Parental Care ◽

Life History Theory ◽

Optimal Strategies ◽

Plasma Corticosterone ◽

Tree Swallows ◽

Feeding Rates ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Strategic Adjustment

Life-history theory predicts that optimal strategies of parental investment will depend on ecological and social factors, such as current brood value and offspring need. Parental care strategies are also likely to be mediated in part by the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis and glucocorticoid hormones. Here, we present an experiment in tree swallows ( Tachycineta bicolor ), a biparental songbird with wide geographical distribution, asking whether parental care is strategically adjusted in response to signals of offspring need and brood value and if so, whether glucocorticoids are involved in these adjustments. Using an automated playback system, we carried out playbacks of nestling begging calls specifically to females in two populations differing in their brood value: a northern population in Ontario, Canada (relatively higher brood value) and a southern population in North Carolina, USA (relatively lower brood value). We quantified female offspring provisioning rates before and during playbacks and plasma corticosterone levels (cort) once during late incubation and once immediately after playbacks. Females in both populations increased feeding rates temporarily during the first 2 h of playback but the increase was not sustained for the entire duration of playback (6 h). Cort levels from samples at the end of the playback did not differ between control females and females that received playbacks. However, females that had higher increases in cort between the incubation and nestling period had greater fledging success. These results suggest that females are able to strategically respond to offspring need, although the role of glucocorticoids in this strategic adjustment remains unclear.

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Effects of pesticide spraying on chick growth, behavior, and parental care in tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) nesting in an apple orchard in Ontario, Canada

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry ◽

10.1002/etc.5620190919 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 19 (9) ◽

pp. 2286-2297 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Christine A. Bishop ◽

Peggy Ng ◽

Pierre Mineau ◽

James S. Quinn ◽

John Struger

Keyword(s):

Parental Care ◽

Apple Orchard ◽

Growth Behavior ◽

Tachycineta Bicolor ◽

Tree Swallows ◽

Chick Growth

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Site- and sex-level differences in adult feeding behaviour and its consequences to offspring quality in tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) following brood-size manipulation

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z07-070 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 85 (8) ◽

pp. 847-854 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

D.R. Ardia

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Brood Size ◽

Feeding Rate ◽

Tachycineta Bicolor ◽

Tree Swallows ◽

Offspring Quality ◽

Brood Size Manipulation ◽

Feeding Effort ◽

Adult Feeding ◽

Habitat Differences

In species with biparental care, males tend to invest less in offspring than do females, likely because of differences in the costs and benefits associated with parental effort. Here I test for sex differences in the response of tree swallows ( Tachycineta bicolor (Vieillot, 1808)) to a brood-size manipulation at two locations differing in food resources, Alaska and New York. I tested sex and habitat differences in how swallows responded to changes in offspring demand. At both sites, both sexes increased effort when feeding enlarged broods, although Alaskan males increased feeding less than Alaskan females. Males decreased feeding effort more to reduced broods than females, but only in Alaska. Food abundance was higher in Alaska than in New York, and Alaskan tree swallows made more feeding visits than New York tree swallows. In New York, food availability did not predict feeding rate and there was no sex difference in the response to brood manipulation. In both sites, male feeding effort was linked with nestling residual body mass, while female feeding effort was correlated with nestling growth rate. This study demonstrates that male tree swallows differ from females by being the first to reduce feeding effort under certain conditions and that male and female feeding rate affects offspring quality differently.

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Timing of breeding and environmental factors as determinants of reproductive performance of tree swallows

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z08-065 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 86 (8) ◽

pp. 843-850 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Russell D. Dawson

Keyword(s):

Reproductive Performance ◽

Weather Conditions ◽

Breeding Birds ◽

Tachycineta Bicolor ◽

Tree Swallows ◽

High Quality ◽

Common Pattern ◽

Offspring Quality ◽

Inclement Weather ◽

Underlying Mechanisms

Decreased reproductive success among birds breeding later in the season is a common pattern in temperate environments, although the underlying mechanisms remain unresolved. The quality hypothesis suggests that high-quality individuals can begin breeding earlier in the season than poorer quality parents, and are also able to invest more in reproduction. Alternatively, the date hypothesis suggests that reduced success among late birds is due to some correlate of date, such as decreased food abundance or offspring value. To test these hypotheses, I manipulated the date that tree swallows, Tachycineta bicolor (Vieillot, 1808), raised offspring by swapping clutches among nests so that birds were raising young either earlier or later than intended, and compared reproductive performance with control nests. My results showed that fledging success was related to the date hypothesis, with later birds being less successful in raising offspring than early breeding birds. Size and mass of offspring were not explained by either hypothesis, but rather by weather conditions experienced prior to measurements being taken. My results highlight the importance of events such as periods of inclement weather that can have significant impacts on offspring quality independently of both date of breeding and parental quality.

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Experimentally increased costs of parental care are shunted to offspring in species with extended care

10.32942/osf.io/y8wx4 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Gretchen F. Wagner ◽

Emeline Mourocq ◽

Michael Griesser

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Parental Care ◽

Total Duration ◽

Bird Species ◽

Life History Strategy ◽

Experimental Treatment ◽

Cost Of Care ◽

Adult Survival ◽

Supporting Evidence ◽

Trade Offs

Biparental care systems are a valuable model to examine conflict, cooperation, and coordination between unrelated individuals, as the product of the interactions between the parents influences the fitness of both individuals. A common experimental technique for testing coordinated responses to changes in the costs of parental care is to temporarily handicap one parent, inducing a higher cost of providing care. However, dissimilarity in experimental designs of these studies has hindered interspecific comparisons of the patterns of cost distribution between parents and offspring. Here we apply a comparative experimental approach by handicapping a parent at nests of five bird species using the same experimental treatment. In some species, a decrease in care by a handicapped parent was compensated by its partner, while in others the increased costs of care were shunted to the offspring. Parental responses to an increased cost of care primarily depended on the total duration of care that offspring require. However, life history pace (i.e., adult survival and fecundity) did not influence parental decisions when faced with a higher cost of caring. Our study highlights that a greater attention to intergenerational trade-offs is warranted, particularly in species with a large burden of parental care. Moreover, we demonstrate that parental care decisions may be weighed more against physiological workload constraints than against future prospects of reproduction, supporting evidence that avian species may devote comparable amounts of energy into survival, regardless of life history strategy.

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