Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The importance of microclimate variation in determining size, growth and survival of avian offspring: experimental evidence from a cavity nesting passerine

  • Behavioural Ecology
  • Published:
Oecologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Organisms are expected to balance energy allocation in such a way that fitness is maximized. While much research has focussed on allocation strategies of reproducing parents, in particular birds, relatively little attention has been paid to how nestlings allocate energy while in the nest. Nestling birds are faced with a trade-off between devoting energy to growth or to thermoregulation, and in altricial species it is likely that the thermal environment of the nest site influences the nature of this trade-off. Here, we experimentally investigate how altering the microclimate of nests affects the growth, size and survival, as well as cell-mediated immune (CMI) response, of nestling tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) in a temperate environment. We place air-activated heating pads in nests of swallows when young were between 4 days and 16 days of age, and compared performance of offspring to control nests. Our manipulation raised temperatures of heated nests by approximately 5°C compared to control nests. Offspring in heated nests had enhanced survival while in the nest, and we also found that they were heavier and had longer ninth primary feathers at 16 days of age. In addition, heating nest boxes resulted in significantly faster growth of primaries, and there was a trend for growth rates of mass to also be higher in heated nests. There were no significant differences between heated and control nests in growth rate or size of tarsus at age 16 days, and we speculate that this lack of response to elevated nest temperatures may be due to growth of skeletal structures being limited by other factors such as calcium availability. We also found no difference between heated and control nests in CMI response. Nonetheless, our results show overall that increasing temperatures of nests has significant benefits that enhance the fitness of offspring. As provisioning rates to offspring did not differ between heated and control nests, we suspect that the beneficial effects of heating were not the consequence of changes in parental behaviour. Our results provide insight into factors, other than food supply, that have important consequences in determining reproductive success of birds breeding in temperate environments.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bachman GC, Chappell MA. (1998) The energetic cost of begging behaviour in nestling house wrens. Anim Behav 55:1607–1618

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bryant DM (1978) Environmental influences on growth and survival of house martins Delichon urbica. Ibis 120:271–283

    Google Scholar 

  • Burnham KP, Anderson D (2002) Model selection and multimodel inference: a practical information—theoretic approach. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Chaplin SB, Cervenka ML, Mickelson AC (2002) Thermal environment of the nest during development of tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) chicks. Auk 119:846–851

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson RD, Bidwell MT (2005) Dietary calcium limits size and growth of nestling tree swallows in a non-acidified landscape. J Avian Biol 36:127–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dijkstra C, Bult A, Bijlsma S, Daan S, Meijer T, Zijlstra, M (1990) Brood size manipulations in the kestrel (Falco tinnunculus): effects on offspring and parent survival. J Anim Ecol 59:269–285

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drent RH, Daan S (1980) The prudent parent: energetic adjustments in avian breeding. Ardea 68:225–252

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunn EH (1975) Timing of endothermy in development of altrical birds. Condor 77:288–293

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunn EH (1979) Age of effective homeothermy in nestling tree swallows according to brood size. Wilson Bull 91:455–457

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunn PO, Winkler DW (1999) Climate change has affected the breeding date of tree swallows throughout North America. Proc R Soc Lond B 266:2487–2490

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eeva T, Lehikoinen E, Ronka M, Lummaa V, Currie D. (2002) Different responses to cold weather in two pied flycatcher populations. Ecography 25:705–713

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gebhardt-Henrich S, Richner H (1998) Causes of growth variation and its consequences for fitness. In: Starck JM, Ricklefs RE (eds) Avian growth and development. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 324–339

    Google Scholar 

  • Golet GH, Irons DB, Estes JA (1998) Survival costs of chick rearing in black-legged kittiwakes. J Anim Ecol 67:827–841

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hussell DJT (2003) Climate change, spring temperatures, and timing of breeding of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) in southern Ontario. Auk 120:607–618

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keller LF, van Noordwijk AJ (1994) Effects of local environmental conditions on nestling growth in the great tit Parus major L. Ardea 82:349–362

    Google Scholar 

  • Krijgsveld KL, Visser GH, Daan S (2003) Foraging behavior and physiological changes in precocial quail chicks in response to low temperatures. Physiol Behav 79:311–319

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lack D (1968) Ecological adaptations for breeding in birds. Methuen, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Leonard ML, Horn AG, Porter J (2003) Does begging affect growth in nestling tree swallows, Tachycineta bicolor? Behav Ecol Sociobiol 54:573–577

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lepczyk CA, Karasov WH (2000) Effect of ephemeral food restriction on growth of house sparrows. Auk 117:164–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindén M, Møller AP (1989) Cost of reproduction and covariation of life history traits in birds. Trends Ecol Evol 4:367–371

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marsh RL (1980) Development of temperature regulation in nestling tree swallows. Condor 82:461–463

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCarty JP (1996) The energetic cost of begging in nestling passerines. Auk 113:178–188

    Google Scholar 

  • McCarty JP (2001) Variation in growth of nestling tree swallows across multiple temporal and spatial scales. Auk 118:176–190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCarty JP (2002) The number of visits to the nest by parents is an accurate measure of food delivered to nestlings in tree swallows. J Field Ornithol 73:9–14

    Google Scholar 

  • McCarty JP, Winkler DW (1999) Relative importance of environmental variables in determining the growth of nestling tree swallows Tachycineta bicolor. Ibis 141:286–296

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy MT (1985) Nestling eastern kingbird growth: effects of initial size and ambient temperature. Ecology 66:162–170

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Negro J J, Chastin A, Bird DM (1994) Effects of short-term food deprivation on growth of hand-reared American kestrels. Condor 96:749–760

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noruśis MJ (2000) SPSS 10.0 Guide to Data Analysis. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River

    Google Scholar 

  • Ottersen G, Planque B, Belgrano A, Post E, Reid PC, Stenseth NC (2001) Ecological effects of the North Atlantic oscillation. Oecologia 128:1–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quinney TE, Hussell DJT, Ankney CD (1986) Sources of variation in growth of tree swallows. Auk 103:389–400

    Google Scholar 

  • Rendell WB, Robertson RJ (1993) Cavity size, clutch-size and the breeding ecology of tree swallows Tachycineta bicolor. Ibis 135:305–310

    Google Scholar 

  • Ricklefs RE (1969) Preliminary models of growth rates in altricial birds. Ecology 50:1031–1039

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ricklefs RE (1983) Avian postnatal development. In: Farner DS, King JR, Parkes KC (eds) Avian biology. Academic, New York, pp 1–83

    Google Scholar 

  • Ricklefs RE, Shea RE, Choi IH (1994) Inverse relationship between functional maturity and exponential-growth rate of avian skeletal-muscle: a constraint on evolutionary response. Evolution 48:1080–1088

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robertson RJ, Stutchbury BJ, Cohen RR (1992) Tree swallow. In: Poole A, Stettenheim P, Gill F (eds) The birds of North America, no. 11. The Academy of Natural Sciences and The American Ornithologists’ Union, Philadelphia and Washington, pp 1–28

  • Ryan PG (2001) Morphological heritability in a hybrid bunting complex: Nesospiza at Inaccessible Island. Condor 103:429–438

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Institute Inc SAS (1990) SAS/STAT user’s guide, version 6. SAS Institute Inc, Cary

    Google Scholar 

  • Schew WA, Ricklefs RE (1998) Developmental plasticity. In: Starck JM, Ricklefs RE (eds) Avian growth and development. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 288–304

    Google Scholar 

  • Smits JE, Bortolotti GR, Tella JL (1999) Simplifying the phytohaemagglutinin skin-testing technique in studies of avian immunocompetence. Funct Ecol 13:567–572

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smits JE, Bortolotti GR, Tella JL (2001) Measurement repeatability and the use of controls in PHA assays: reply. Funct Ecol 15:814–817

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stearns SC (1989) Trade-off in life-history evolution. Funct Ecol 2:259–268

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stearns SC (1992) The evolution of life histories. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Stewart LM, Robertson RJ (1999) The role of cavity size in the evolution of clutch size in tree swallows. Auk 116:553–556

    Google Scholar 

  • Tinbergen JM, Boerlijst MC (1990) Nestling weight and survival in individual great tits (Parus major). J Anim Ecol 59:1113–1127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner AK (1984) Nesting and feeding-habits of brown-chested martins in relation to weather conditions. Condor 86:30–35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Visser HG (1998) Development of temperature regulation. In: Starck JM, Ricklefs RE (eds) Avian growth and development. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 117–156

    Google Scholar 

  • Visser ME, Adriaensen F, Van Balen JH, Blondel J, Dhondt AA, Van Dongen S, Du Feu C, Ivankina EV, Kerimov AB, De Laet J, Matthysen E, McCleery R, Orell M, Thomson DL (2003) Variable responses to large-scale climate change in European Parus populations. Proc R Soc Lond B 270:367–372

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiggins DA (1989) Heritability of body size in cross-fostered tree swallow broods. Evolution 43:1808–1811

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams GC (1966) Natural selection: the costs of reproduction and a refinement of Lack’s principle. Am Nat 100:687–690

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winkler DW (1993) Use and importance of feathers as nest lining in tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). Auk 110:29–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Winkler DW, Dunn PO, McCulloch CE (2002) Predicting the effects of climate change on avian life-history traits. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 99:13595–13599

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zach R, Mayoh KR. (1982) Weight and feather growth of nestling tree swallows. Can J Zool 60:1080–1090

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Dale and Karen Steward for allowing us to access their property to conduct our studies, and to Ken Child and Adam Pasowisty from BC Hydro for allowing us to mount nest boxes on power poles. We also thank J. McCarty and anonymous reviewers whose comments improved the manuscript. This study was funded by a Discovery Grant to Russell D. Dawson from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Additional funding was provided by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund and the Northern Land Use Institute (UNBC). Our research protocols were approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee of UNBC.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecosystem Science and Management, University of Northern British Columbia, 3333 University Way, Prince George, V2N 4Z9, BC, Canada

    Russell D. Dawson, Cheyenne C. Lawrie & Erin L. O’Brien

Authors
  1. Russell D. Dawson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Cheyenne C. Lawrie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Erin L. O’Brien
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Russell D. Dawson.

Additional information

Communicated by Mark Chappell

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Dawson, R.D., Lawrie, C.C. & O’Brien, E.L. The importance of microclimate variation in determining size, growth and survival of avian offspring: experimental evidence from a cavity nesting passerine. Oecologia 144, 499–507 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-005-0075-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-005-0075-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation