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Full-Text Articles in Animal Sciences
Individual, Temporal, And Seasonal Variation In Sperm Concentration In Tree Swallows, Michael P. Lombardo, Armetris N. Forman, Matthew R. Czarnowski, Patrick A. Thorpe
Individual, Temporal, And Seasonal Variation In Sperm Concentration In Tree Swallows, Michael P. Lombardo, Armetris N. Forman, Matthew R. Czarnowski, Patrick A. Thorpe
Peer Reviewed Publications
We determined sperm concentrations in Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) by manually expressing semen samples from males during prelaying, egg-laying, incubation, and nestling periods. Sperm concentrations varied by orders of magnitude (0-109 sperm mL-1) among males. Sperm concentrations were highest during the incubation period and lowest during the prelaying period. None of the samples collected during the prelaying, egg-laying, and incubation periods were devoid of sperm. In contrast, 45% of samples collected during the nestling period lacked sperm. Sperm concentrations (1) did not vary over the course of the morning during prelaying, egg-laying, and incubation periods …
Nestling Tree Swallow (Tachycineta Bicolor) Diets In An Upland Old Field In Western Michigan, Matthew E. Johnson, Michael P. Lombardo
Nestling Tree Swallow (Tachycineta Bicolor) Diets In An Upland Old Field In Western Michigan, Matthew E. Johnson, Michael P. Lombardo
Peer Reviewed Publications
We collected and identified 1852 prey items from 89 boluses delivered to 62 nestling tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) at 14 nests in an upland old field in western Michigan. We found that 90.8% of nestling diets was insects from the Orders Diptera, Homoptera, Hymenoptera and Coleoptera. We also found clam and snail shells in boluses. Over the most common brood sizes of 4-6 nestlings, brood size was inversely proportional to the number of items per bolus delivered to nestlings although mean dry and mean organic weight of boluses did not differ. Bolus composition was not influenced by weather …
Microbial Colonization Of The Cloacae Of Nestling Tree Swallows, Tamara K. Mills, Michael P. Lombardo, Patrick A. Thorpe
Microbial Colonization Of The Cloacae Of Nestling Tree Swallows, Tamara K. Mills, Michael P. Lombardo, Patrick A. Thorpe
Peer Reviewed Publications
Microbes have the potential to be important selective forces in many aspects of avian biology. Microbes can affect fitness as a result of either their pathogenic or beneficial effects on host health. Little is known about the chronology of microbial colonization of nestlings or the effects of microbes on fledgling condition. We set out to (1) characterize the time course of microbial colonization of the cloacae of nestling Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), (2) examine the relationship between cloacal microbes and fledgling condition, and (3) determine if nest mates had similar assemblages of cloacal microbes. We repeatedly measured nestlings …
Communities Of Cloacal Bacteria In Tree Swallow Families, Michael P. Lombardo, Patrick A. Thorpe, R. Cichewicz, M. Henshaw, C. Millard, C. Steen, T. K. Zeller
Communities Of Cloacal Bacteria In Tree Swallow Families, Michael P. Lombardo, Patrick A. Thorpe, R. Cichewicz, M. Henshaw, C. Millard, C. Steen, T. K. Zeller
Peer Reviewed Publications
Our aim in this study was to survey the communities of bacteria found in the cloacae of adult and nestling Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), determine if there were familial patterns of prevalence, and determine if there were relationships between bacteria loads and nestling size when 12 days old and fledging success.
Within-Pair Copulations: Are Female Tree Swallows Feathering Their Own Nests?, Michael P. Lombardo
Within-Pair Copulations: Are Female Tree Swallows Feathering Their Own Nests?, Michael P. Lombardo
Peer Reviewed Publications
A variety of hypotheses has been proposed to explain why socially monogamous birds copulate repeatedly with their mates when only a single copulation is necessary to fertilize an entire clutch (Birkhead and Møller 1992, Petrie 1992, Hunter et al. 1993). Petrie (1992) hypothesized that a female should copulate frequently with her mate so as to reduce her mate’s involvement in extrapair copulations. By reducing her mate’s involvement in extrapair copulations, a female may: (1) avoid the transmission of parasites and sexually transmitted diseases (Hamilton 1990); (2) may avoid sperm depletion by her mate; and (3) may monopolize her mate’s paternal …
Effect Of Feathers As Nest Insulation On Incubation Behavior And Reproductive Performance Of Tree Swallows (Tachycineta Bicolor), Michael P. Lombardo, Ruth M. Bosman, Christine A. Faro, Stephen G. Houtteman, Timothy S. Kluisza
Effect Of Feathers As Nest Insulation On Incubation Behavior And Reproductive Performance Of Tree Swallows (Tachycineta Bicolor), Michael P. Lombardo, Ruth M. Bosman, Christine A. Faro, Stephen G. Houtteman, Timothy S. Kluisza
Peer Reviewed Publications
Many species of birds line their nests with feathers, presumably because of the insulative qualities of feathers and because feathers may act as a barrier between nest parasites and nestlings. In 1993, we experimentally examined the role of feathers as nest insulation on the incubation behavior, nestling growth, and reproductive performance of Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) nesting in boxes in western Michigan. There were no significant differences between the incubation rhythms of females with experimental nests (i.e. no feathers) and females with control nests (i.e. with feathers). Nestlings that were reared in control nests had significantly longer right …
Homosexual Copulations By Male Tree Swallows, Michael P. Lombardo, Ruth M. Bosman, Christine A. Faro, Stephen G. Houtteman, Timothy S. Kluisza
Homosexual Copulations By Male Tree Swallows, Michael P. Lombardo, Ruth M. Bosman, Christine A. Faro, Stephen G. Houtteman, Timothy S. Kluisza
Peer Reviewed Publications
Homosexual courtship behavior in non-human animals is well known (Ford and Beach 1980) and occurs in a wide variety of taxa. However, homosexual copulations, especially between males, are less well known. In birds, males mounting other males have been observed in the colonially breeding Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) (Fujioka and Yamagishi 1981) and Common Murre (Uria aalge) (Birkhead et al. 1985, Hatchwell 1988). Neither Fujioka and Yamagishi (1981) nor Birkhead et al. (1985) and Hatchwell (1988) reported whether cloacal contact occurred during their observations of male-male mountings. Here we describe homosexual copulations by male Tree Swallows …