Barn Owl (Tyto alba) breeding biology in relation to breeding season climate

Chausson, Alexandre; Henry, Isabelle; Almasi, Bettina; Roulin, Alexandre

doi:10.1007/s10336-013-1012-x

Cited by 25 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Alternatively, the benefit of cold ambient temperatures with respect to food storage may exceed the thermoregulatory costs during incubation in gray jays. In contrast, several studies have found that reproductive success increased with ambient temperatures in the incubation and nestling periods (Beck, Hopkins, Jackson, & Hawley, 2015;Chausson, Henry, Almasi, & Roulin, 2014;Hallinger & Cristol, 2011). However, these studies did not test whether the effect of temperature on reproductive success depended on timing of reproduction.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Reduced reproductive performance associated with warmer ambient temperatures during incubation in a winter‐breeding, food‐storing passerine

Whelan

Strickland²,

Morand‐Ferron

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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Timing of reproduction can influence individual fitness whereby early breeders tend to have higher reproductive success than late breeders. However, the fitness consequences of timing of breeding may also be influenced by environmental conditions after the commencement of breeding. We tested whether ambient temperatures during the incubation and early nestling periods modulated the effect of laying date on brood size and dominant juvenile survival in gray jays (Perisoreus canadensis), a sedentary boreal species whose late winter nesting depends, in part, on caches of perishable food. Previous evidence has suggested that warmer temperatures degrade the quality of these food hoards, and we asked whether warmer ambient temperatures during the incubation and early nestling periods would be associated with smaller brood sizes and lower summer survival of dominant juveniles. We used 38 years of data from a range‐edge population of gray jays in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, where the population has declined over 50% since the study began. Consistent with the “hoard‐rot” hypothesis, we found that cold temperatures during incubation were associated with larger brood sizes in later breeding attempts, but temperatures had little effect on brood size for females breeding early in the season. This is the first evidence that laying date and temperature during incubation interactively influence brood size in any bird species. We did not find evidence that ambient temperatures during the incubation period or early part of the nestling period influenced summer survival of dominant juveniles. Our findings provide evidence that warming temperatures are associated with some aspects of reduced reproductive performance in a species that is reliant on cold temperatures to store perishable food caches, some of which are later consumed during the reproductive period.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Reduced reproductive performance associated with warmer ambient temperatures during incubation in a winter‐breeding, food‐storing passerine

Whelan

Strickland²,

Morand‐Ferron

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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“…Rather, it appears that the selective advantage accrued by larger-spotted barn owls is mainly associated with reproductive activities. Cold temperatures may indeed negatively impact rearing conditions, as shown in Switzerland, where brood size is positively correlated with ambient temperatures prevailing during rearing (Chausson et al, 2014). Therefore, larger-spotted owls may better be able to cope with cooler temperatures during the rearing period.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Barn owls display larger black feather spots in cooler regions of the British Isles

Roulin

Randin

2016

Biol. J. Linn. Soc.

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Although, in many organisms, genotypes are adapted to specific environmental conditions, the identification of the ecological factors explaining patterns of local adaptation is not a trivial task. In relation to the cosmopolitan barn owl (Tyto alba), its plumage varies from white to dark pheomelanic and shows a difference in the number and size of black spots located at the tip of ventral feathers. The expression of these traits is strongly heritable and weakly sensitive to variation in body condition. Therefore, if owls located in cold or rainy regions are differently plumaged compared to owls living in warm or dry regions, this may not be a result of climate affecting the expression of plumage traits. Instead, different plumages might be selected under different environmental conditions. We have found that, on the British Isles, comparatively larger spots are present on barn owls found in regions that are cooler in summer. This is similar to the findings of a previous study performed in North America and on continental Europe, raising the possibility that larger-spotted barn owls better cope in cold temperatures during the rearing period or that they are better adapted to some environmental factors prevailing in cooler summers.

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“…For instance, among abiotic factors, meteorological conditions greatly affect nestlings growth in many bird species (Roldan et al 2013, Chausson et al 2014), because they impact on individuals both directly, e.g. by affecting thermoregulation costs and energy expenditure of nestlings (Ricklefs 1983), and indirectly, by influencing food availability or the foraging efficiency of parents, for example.…”

Section: Weather Conditions Brood Size and Hatching Order Affect Commentioning

confidence: 99%

Weather conditions, brood size and hatching order affect Common SwiftApus apusnestlings’ survival and growth

et al. 2014

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Barn Owl (Tyto alba) breeding biology in relation to breeding season climate

Cited by 25 publications

References 26 publications

Reduced reproductive performance associated with warmer ambient temperatures during incubation in a winter‐breeding, food‐storing passerine

Reduced reproductive performance associated with warmer ambient temperatures during incubation in a winter‐breeding, food‐storing passerine

Barn owls display larger black feather spots in cooler regions of the British Isles

Weather conditions, brood size and hatching order affect Common SwiftApus apusnestlings’ survival and growth

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