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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Landscape-Level Effects Of Agricultural Intensification On The Condition And Diet Of Nestling Barn Swallows (Hirundo Rustica), Jackson W. Kusack
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 …
The Post-Fledging Survival And Movements Of Juvenile Barn Swallows (Hirundo Rustica): An Automated Telemetry Approach, Dean R. Evans
The Post-Fledging Survival And Movements Of Juvenile Barn Swallows (Hirundo Rustica): An Automated Telemetry Approach, Dean R. Evans
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
For migratory songbirds, population dynamics are primarily influenced by juvenile or first year survival, but survival between fledging and fall migration is particularly important. Unfortunately, our knowledge of this post-fledging period is largely limited due to the difficulty of tracking juveniles outside the nest. For this thesis, I used automated radio telemetry to track the survival and post-fledging movements of 216 juvenile Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) from fledging up until departure for autumn migration in 2016-2017. Average apparent survival was 42% for both broods and nestlings in better body condition had higher survival. Nestlings from second broods migrated …