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Landscape-Level Effects Of Agricultural Intensification On The Condition And Diet Of Nestling Barn Swallows (Hirundo Rustica), Jackson W. Kusack

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Farmland bird populations have experienced declines with increasing agricultural intensification for which the leading hypothesis is a reduction of prey insects. This may be especially relevant for aerial insectivores whose primary diet is aerial insects. For this thesis, I examined nestling body condition and used stable isotopes (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N) and fecal DNA barcoding to determine the diet of a farmland breeding aerial insectivore, the Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), within an agro-ecosystem in Southern Ontario, Canada. Nestling body condition was positively affected by agricultural intensification, but all benefits were lost by the pre-fledging stage and …

Spatial And Temporal Patterns Of Neutral And Adaptive Genetic Variation In The Alpine Butterfly, Parnassius Smintheus, Maryam Jangjoo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Understanding how much genetic diversity exists in populations, and the processes that maintain that diversity, has been a central focus of population genetics. The evolutionary processes that determine patterns of genetic diversity depend on underlying ecological processes such as dispersal and changes in population size. In this thesis, I examine the influence of dispersal and population dynamics on neutral and adaptive genetic variation in a naturally occurring network of populations of the alpine butterfly, Parnassius smintheus.

My first objective was to determine the combined consequences of demographic bottlenecks and dispersal on neutral genetic variation within and among populations. Using …

Differential Spring Migration In The White-Throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia Albicollis), Andrew T. Beauchamp

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Differential migration timing between distinct classes of individuals is commonly observed in songbirds, however, the underlying behavioural mechanisms of differential timing are still uncertain for most species. My research applied a suite of advanced techniques to examine differential migration timing (by sex and morph) and its underlying behavioural mechanisms (refuelling rate, stopover duration, and wintering latitude) in spring migrating White-throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis) at a key stopover site. Protandry was the only form of differential migration timing observed, with males arriving at stopover on average 11 days earlier than females. Males and females had similar refuelling rate, stopover …