Food Limitation During Breeding in a Heterogeneous Landscape

Granbom, Martin; Smith, Henrik G.

doi:10.1642/0004-8038(2006)123[0097:fldbia]2.0.co;2

Cited by 21 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…As predicted, fledging success, and to a lesser extent nestling body mass, were positively related to prey availability. These findings support previous studies documenting similar trends stemming from artificial changes in local food availability (Boutin 1990, Granbom and Smith 2006, Robb et al 2008, Ruffino et al 2014). For instance, multiple lines of evidence suggest declines in fitness proxies and changes in foraging behaviors of avian species following the decrease of prey availability through the application of various agro-chemical agents (Martin et al 1998, 2000, Brickle et al 2000, Hart et al 2006, Poulin et al 2010).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…We therefore assess the influence of prey availability on the fledging success, the duration of the nestling period and the morphological traits of fledglings (hitherto referred collectively as fitness proxies). Evidence suggests food availability and agricultural landscapes can be influential to both nestling growth and condition, and yet has only recently received more attention as a possible driver of aerial insectivore declines (Smith and Bruun 1998, Granbom and Smith 2006, Pigeon et al 2013, Almasi et al 2015, Kusack et al 2020, Houle et al 2020). Therefore we assess the possibility that links between agricultural intensification and declining populations of aerial insectivores are not only through a reduction in the number of fledglings, but also through reduced offspring condition, as this may carry over and affect future recruitment and productivity (Stutchbury et al 2011, Naef-Daenzer and Grüebler 2016, Saino et al 2018, Evans et al 2020, Jones and Ward 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Combined influence of food availability and agricultural intensification on a declining aerial insectivore

Garrett

Pelletier

Garant

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Aerial insectivores show worldwide population declines coinciding with shifts in agricultural practices. Increasing reliance on certain agricultural practices, is thought to have led to an overall reduction in insect abundance that negatively effects aerial insectivore fitness. The relationship between prey availability and the fitness of insectivores may thus vary with the extent of agricultural production. It is therefore imperative to quantify the strength and direction of these associations. Here we used data from an 11-year study monitoring the breeding of Tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) and the availability of Diptera (their main prey) across a gradient of agricultural intensification in southern Qu&eacutebec, Canada. More specifically, we evaluated the landscape characteristics affecting prey availability, and how this relationship influences the fledging success, the duration of the nestling period, the fledgling body mass and wing length as these variables are known to influence the population dynamics of this species. Diptera availability was greatest within predominately forested landscapes, yet within principally agricultural landscapes, it was greatest within ones dominated by intensive row crops (corn, soybean and wheat), and, counter to our predictions, lowest within those dominated by forage and pasture fields. Of the measured fitness proxies, only fledging success was positively related to prey availability. The impact of prey availability varied across the agricultural gradient as fledging success improved with increasing prey levels within forage landscapes yet declined in more agro-intensive landscapes. Finally, once conditioning on prey availability, fledging success was lowest, nestling periods were the longest, and wing length of fledglings were shortest within more agro-intensive landscapes. Our results highlight the interacting roles that aerial insect availability and agricultural intensification have on the fitness of aerial insectivores, and by extension how food availability may interact with other aspects of breeding habitats to influence the population dynamics of predators.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combined influence of food availability and agricultural intensification on a declining aerial insectivore

Garrett

Pelletier

Garant

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…WPE could affect food resources available to herbivores through changes in the composition or biomass of vegetation and subsequently to carnivores through changes in herbivore populations and communities (Maurer 1985). Among birds, declines in food availability can delay nest initiation or lead to nest failure (Ortega et al 2006), and increase rates of nestling starvation (Maron and Lill 2005;Granbom et al 2006) and predation (Dewey and Kennedy 2001;Zanette et al 2003).…”

Section: Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Woody Plant Encroachment: Causes and Consequences

Archer

Andersen

Predick

et al. 2017

Springer Series on Environmental Management

367

379

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Woody vegetation in grasslands and savannas has increased worldwide over the past 100-200 years. This phenomenon of "woody plant encroachment" (WPE) has been documented to occur at different times but at comparable rates in rangelands of the Americas, Australia, and southern Africa. The objectives of this chapter are to review (1) the process of WPE and its causes, (2) consequences for ecosystem function and the provision of services, and (3) the effectiveness of management interventions aimed at reducing woody cover. Explanations for WPE require consideration of multiple interacting drivers and constraints and their variation through time at a given site. Mean annual precipitation sets an upper limit to woody plant cover, but local patterns of disturbance (fire, browsing) and soil properties (texture, depth) prevent the realization of this potential. In the absence of these constraints, seasonality, interannual variation, and intensity of precipitation events determine the rate and extent of woody plant expansion. Although probably not a triggering factor, rising atmospheric CO 2 levels may have favored C 3 woody plant growth. WPE coincided with the global intensification of livestock grazing that by reducing fine fuels, hence fire frequency and intensity, facilitated WPE. From a conservation perspective, WPE threatens the maintenance of grassland and savanna

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“…Styrysky et al [ 19 ] found that supplemental food increased nestling mass in the house wren ( Troglodytes aedon ), but only in early-season broods. In the starling ( Sturnus vulgaris ), supplemental food had a positive effect on nestling tarsus length [ 20 ]. In the magpie ( Pica pica ) food supplementation appeared to the influence the heritability of tarsus length in some cases but had no effect in others [ 21 , 22 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food supplements increase adult tarsus length, but not growth rate, in an island population of house sparrows (Passer domesticus)

et al. 2011

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BackgroundVariation in food supply during early development can influence growth rate and body size in many species. However, whilst the detrimental effects of food restriction have often been studied in natural populations, how young individuals respond to an artificial increase in food supply is rarely investigated. Here, we investigated both the short-term and long-term effects of providing house sparrow chicks with food supplements during a key period of growth and development and assessed whether providing food supplements had any persistent effect upon adult size (measured here as tarsus length).ResultsMale nestlings tended to reach higher mass asymptotes than females. Furthermore, brood size was negatively associated with a chick's asymptotic mass. However, providing food supplements had no influence upon the growth rate or the asymptotic mass of chicks. Adults that received food supplements as chicks were larger, in terms of their tarsus length, than adults that did not receive extra food as chicks. In addition, the variation in tarsus length amongst adult males that were given food supplements as chicks was significantly less than the variance observed amongst males that did not receive food supplements.ConclusionsOur results demonstrate that the food supply chicks experience during a critical developmental period can have a permanent effect upon their adult phenotype. Furthermore, providing extra food to chicks resulted in sex-biased variance in a size-related trait amongst adults, which shows that the degree of sexual size dimorphism can be affected by the environment experienced during growth.

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Food Limitation During Breeding in a Heterogeneous Landscape

Cited by 21 publications

References 57 publications

Combined influence of food availability and agricultural intensification on a declining aerial insectivore

Combined influence of food availability and agricultural intensification on a declining aerial insectivore

Woody Plant Encroachment: Causes and Consequences

Food supplements increase adult tarsus length, but not growth rate, in an island population of house sparrows (Passer domesticus)

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