Nest-Building Behavior in PCB-Contaminated Tree Swallows

McCarty, John P.; Secord, Anne L.

doi:10.2307/4089453

Cited by 71 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Supporting the supposition that PCBs may adversely affect the developing brain both anatomically and physiologically are the observations by McCarty and Secord (1999b) that tree swallows living along the highly contaminated stretches of the PCB-laden Hudson River demonstrate abnormal nest-building behaviors and abnormally poor nest-building skills. Tree swallows that build inadequate nests may be less likely to successfully lay eggs, brood and hatch them, and have viable fledglings, since the eggs will be more likely to get damaged or chilled during the incubation period, that is, if the nests can even hold one egg.…”

Section: Pcb-correlated Effects On Passerine Organ Si 13mentioning

confidence: 91%

“…However, both laboratory and field assessments have tended to focus on indicator organisms, specific species that have been well studied and are then used to model the potential impacts on species that are less well studied. Among the non-piscivorous avian species, for example, the most recent indicator species of choice has been the tree swallow (McCarty and Secord, 1999b). The implicit assumption underlying the practice of using indicator species is that all species of a similar kind (such as passerines, or even [more broadly] non-piscivorous birds) will respond similarly to a given contaminant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Site Specific PCB-Correlated Interspecies Differences in Organ Somatic Indices

Henshel

Sparks

2005

Ecotoxicology

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We correlated site specific differences in the organ somatic indices of nestlings of five passerine species (tree swallow, red-winged blackbird, house wren, Carolina chickadee, and eastern bluebird) with the degree of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) exposure in ovo and post-hatching. The birds were exposed to PCBs at or downstream of four PCB-contaminated sites. Of the organs evaluated for this paper, brain, bursa, heart, kidneys, lungs, pancreas, spleen, stomach, and thyroid varied significantly (p<0.05) or marginally significantly (0.05

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Section: Pcb-correlated Effects On Passerine Organ Si 13mentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Site Specific PCB-Correlated Interspecies Differences in Organ Somatic Indices

Henshel

Sparks

2005

Ecotoxicology

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“…We hypothesize that male bluegills collected from PCB contaminated lakes may have altered reproductive activities, such as impaired nest building, parental care, male courtship of females, and nest defense associated with impairments in the brain. Recent research has demonstrated that parental care can be altered by endocrine disruptive contaminants (McCarty and Secord 1999, Bustnes et al 2001, Saaristo et al 2010. Parental male bluegills that invest in nest building activities may be at a disadvantage due to high PCB body residues or other contaminants that were not quantified but co-varied with PCB loading.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contaminants reduce male contribution to reproduction at the population scale

2015

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Abstract. In many populations, males compete for mates and contribute to genetic diversity, but are assumed to have little impact on population growth rates and density, because one father is all that is necessary to fertilize a large number of eggs and sire a potential cohort. A factor affecting male reproductive output is exposure to contaminants that either disrupt endocrine function or mimic hormones. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) persist in aquatic ecosystems and may interfere with the reproductive contribution of male fish to populations. We quantified 28 PCB congeners in adult male bluegills across eight Illinois lakes. In spring 2011 and 2012, mature male bluegills from lakes with conspecifics with PCB whole-body residues ranging from undetectable to high (2,000 ng/g dry mass total PCBs) were placed in experimental ponds with mature females containing no detectable PCB body residues and allowed to reproduce in spring under natural conditions. The presence of PCBs in fish had no effect on the presence of intersex or other gonadal deformities in adult males nor was gonad size, lipid concentration, and survival affected. Males with high PCBs were heavier than those from lakes with low PCB concentrations. The relative density of juvenile bluegills produced in ponds by fall, a fitness endpoint in this species, was negatively related to contaminant concentration in fathers. Contaminant exposure and other factors that affect male reproduction may not only suppress the relative contribution of males to genetic diversity, but also the overall density of cohorts within populations.

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“…Tree swallows are used widely as indicators of local contamination Custer et al 1998Custer et al , 2000Custer et al , 2006Harris and Elliott 2000;Longcore et al 2007;McCarty and Secord 1999;Neigh et al 2006;Smits et al 2000;Wayland et al 1998). Tree swallows are widely distributed, feed near their nests, eat mainly emergent aquatic insects and readily use nest boxes placed in appropriate aquatic habitats, facilitating sampling of incubating females and nestlings.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The corticosterone stress response and mercury contamination in free-living tree swallows, Tachycineta bicolor

et al. 2009

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We determined mercury concentrations in tree swallows, Tachycineta bicolor, from Massachusetts and Maine with different levels of contamination. Baseline and stress-induced plasma corticosterone concentrations from adults and nestlings (Massachusetts only) were compared with mercury concentrations. In Massachusetts, adult baseline corticosterone was negatively correlated with blood mercury, but showed a nearly-significant positive correlation with feather mercury. There was a negative relationship between baseline corticosterone and blood mercury in nestlings and between baseline corticosterone and egg mercury. There was no relationship between mercury and stress-induced corticosterone in any of the groups, or with baseline corticosterone in Maine sites where mercury levels were lower. The findings suggest blood and egg mercury may be a better indicator of current condition than feather mercury. Further, mercury contamination may not alter stress-induced corticosterone concentrations in tree swallows but appears to have a significant impact on baseline circulating corticosterone.

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Nest-Building Behavior in PCB-Contaminated Tree Swallows

Cited by 71 publications

References 35 publications

Site Specific PCB-Correlated Interspecies Differences in Organ Somatic Indices

Site Specific PCB-Correlated Interspecies Differences in Organ Somatic Indices

Contaminants reduce male contribution to reproduction at the population scale

The corticosterone stress response and mercury contamination in free-living tree swallows, Tachycineta bicolor

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