Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Gowaty, Patricia Adair; Plissner, Jonathan H.

doi:10.2173/bow.easblu.01

Cited by 28 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For example, certain plants contain volatile compounds that may deter parasites (Dubiec, Góźdź, & Mazgajski, 2013). Both species incorporate grasses and pine needles into their nests (Gowaty & Plissner, 2015;Winkler et al, 2011) but the effect of the specific plant composition has not been explored.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Eastern bluebirds also build open-cup nests, which are made of grasses and/or pine needles, in secondary cavities (Gowaty & Plissner, 2015). The clutch size of eastern bluebirds ranges from three to seven eggs, which are incubated for about 13-14 days, and nestlings spend 16-22 days in the nest (Gowaty & Plissner, 2015;Pinkowski, 1975). As with swallows, bluebirds feed their nestlings by placing food items in the nestling's open mouth.…”

Section: Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Host tolerance and resistance to parasitic nest flies differs between two wild bird species

Grab

Hiller

Hurlbert

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Hosts have developed and evolved defense strategies to limit parasite damage. Hosts can reduce the damage that parasites cause by decreasing parasite fitness (resistance) or without affecting parasite fitness (tolerance). Because a parasite species can infect multiple host species, determining the effect of the parasite on these hosts and identifying host defense strategies can have important implications for multi‐host–parasite dynamics. Over 2 years, we experimentally manipulated parasitic flies (Protocalliphora sialia) in the nests of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) and eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis). We then determined the effects of the parasites on the survival of nestlings and compared defense strategies between host species. We compared resistance between host species by quantifying parasite densities (number of parasites per gram of host) and measured nestling antibody levels as a mechanism of resistance. We quantified tolerance by determining the relationship between parasite density and nestling survival and blood loss by measuring hemoglobin levels (as a proxy of blood recovery) and nestling provisioning rates (as a proxy of parental compensation for resources lost to the parasite) as potential mechanisms of tolerance. For bluebirds, parasite density was twice as high as for swallows. Both host species were tolerant to the effects of P. sialia on nestling survival at their respective parasite loads but neither species were tolerant to the blood loss to the parasite. However, swallows were more resistant to P. sialia compared to bluebirds, which was likely related to the higher antibody‐mediated immune response in swallow nestlings. Neither blood recovery nor parental compensation were mechanisms of tolerance. Overall, these results suggest that bluebirds and swallows are both tolerant of their respective parasite loads but swallows are more resistant to the parasites. These results demonstrate that different host species have evolved similar and different defenses against the same species of parasite.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Host tolerance and resistance to parasitic nest flies differs between two wild bird species

Grab

Hiller

Hurlbert

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Between 1920 and 1970, bluebird populations declined throughout North America due, in part, to habitat destruction and the introduction of invasive species (Gowaty & Plissner, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The eastern bluebird Sialia sialis is a North American bird species that is unnaturally fed by humans. In the 1970s, populations of eastern bluebirds declined, which was thought to be linked to a loss of suitable foraging and nesting habitat (Gowaty & Plissner, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food supplementation affects gut microbiota and immunological resistance to parasites in a wild bird species

Knutie

2020

Journal of Applied Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Supplemental feeding can increase the overall health of animals but also can have varying consequences for animals dealing with parasites. Furthermore, the mechanism mediating the effect of food supplementation on host–parasite interactions remains poorly understood. The goal of the study was to determine the effect of food supplementation on host defences against parasitic nest flies and whether host gut microbiota, which can affect immunity, potentially mediates these relationships. In a fully crossed design, I experimentally manipulated the abundance of parasitic nest flies Protocalliphora sialia and food availability then characterized the gut microbiota, immune responses and nest parasite abundance of nestling eastern bluebirds Sialia sialis. Food supplemented birds had 75% fewer parasites than unsupplemented birds. Parasite abundance decreased throughout the breeding season for unsupplemented birds, but abundance did not change throughout the season for supplemented birds. Food supplementation increased overall fledging success. Parasitism had a sublethal effect on blood loss, but food supplementation mitigated these effects by increasing parasite resistance via the nestling IgY antibody response. Food supplementation increased the gut bacterial diversity in nestlings, which was negatively related to parasite abundance. Food supplementation also increased the relative abundance of Clostridium spp. in nestlings, which was positively related to their antibody response and negatively related to parasite abundance. Synthesis and applications. Overall, the results of this study suggest that food supplementation, especially early in the breeding season, increases resistance to parasitism during the early life stage of the host, which might be mediated by the gut microbiota. Wildlife food supplementation is a common pastime for humans worldwide and therefore it is important to understand the consequences of this activity on animal health. Furthermore, supplemental feeding could induce resistance to detrimental parasites (e.g. invasive parasites) in hosts when management of the parasite is not immediately possible.

show abstract

“…Eastern bluebirds (S. sialis; mass ∼30 g) are a secondary cavity nesting species that readily nest in human-constructed nestboxes. They are socially monogamous and both parents defend the nest during the incubation and nestling rearing stages, females incubate the eggs and both parents provision the young (Gowaty and Plissner, 2015). Over the last 40 years, tree swallows (mass: ∼20 g) have expanded their breeding range to the southeastern United States and were not documented breeding in North Carolina until the 1980s (Lee, 1993).…”

Section: Study Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interspecific Density Influences the Adaptive Significance of Provisioning Coordination Between Breeding Partners

Burdick

Siefferman

2020

Front. Ecol. Evol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cooperation between parents in species with biparental care can reduce sexual conflict and increase reproductive success. If parents cooperate in a conditional way-that is, alternate feeding visits to offspring-this should equalize parental investment and may improve nestling growth. Environmental variation, including competition for limited resources, may influence the need for, and benefits of, parental cooperation. We measured the benefits of partner coordination in offspring provisioning behavior among eastern bluebird partners (Sialia sialis) in which the strength of interspecific density varied spatially. Tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) are a recent (<40 years) arrival in our study area, are aggressive nestbox competitors with eastern bluebirds, and their density varies across the field site. Nesting among higher densities of tree swallows led to reduced parental feeding rates and reproductive success of bluebirds. Partner alternation, however, did not vary with tree swallow density. Additionally, alternation level and provisioning rate only influenced nestling growth in areas of high swallow density. It may be that the benefits of parental coordination may only be apparent when environmental conditions are poor. This study provides an important new perspective on the resolution of negotiations between breeding partners; environmental variation could influence the benefits of parental cooperation in a wide variety of animals.

show abstract

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Cited by 28 publications

References 0 publications

Host tolerance and resistance to parasitic nest flies differs between two wild bird species

Host tolerance and resistance to parasitic nest flies differs between two wild bird species

Food supplementation affects gut microbiota and immunological resistance to parasites in a wild bird species

Interspecific Density Influences the Adaptive Significance of Provisioning Coordination Between Breeding Partners

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About