Dataset Information

Older birds have better feathers: A longitudinal study on the long-distance migratory Sand Martin, Riparia riparia.

ABSTRACT: Feather quality is of critical importance to long-distance migratory birds. Here, we report a series of analyses of a unique data set encompassing known-age individuals of the long-distance migratory Sand Martin (Riparia riparia). Sampling over 17 years along the Tisza River, eastern Hungary, has resulted in the recapture of numerous individuals enabling longitudinal and cross-sectional investigation of the role of adaptation to variable environmental conditions on feather morphology. We show that older individuals tend to possess better quality feathers, measured using bending stiffness, feather length and thickness as proxies. Bending stiffness and feather thickness do not change with individual age, in contrast with increases in feather length and declines in daily feather growth versus age of individual alongside moult duration. Individuals who live to older ages tend to have similar, or higher, feather growth rates and better feather quality than individuals captured at younger ages. Thus, on the basis of strong selection against individuals with slow feather growth, as seen in other species of swallows and martins, which causes a delay in moult completion, the results of this analysis highlight the potential cost of producing better quality feathers when this depends on moult duration. Feather length also does change during the lifetime of the individual and thus enabled us to further investigate influence of individual and environmental conditions during the moult. The results of this analysis provide important insights on the adaptive significance of these traits, and the potential use of physical characteristics in unravelling the reasons why long distance migratory bird populations are in global decline.

SUBMITTER: Szep T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6319700 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Older birds have better feathers: A longitudinal study on the long-distance migratory Sand Martin, Riparia riparia.

Szép Tibor T Dobránszky János J Møller Anders Pape AP Dyke Gareth G Lendvai Ádám Z ÁZ

PloS one 20190104 1

Feather quality is of critical importance to long-distance migratory birds. Here, we report a series of analyses of a unique data set encompassing known-age individuals of the long-distance migratory Sand Martin (Riparia riparia). Sampling over 17 years along the Tisza River, eastern Hungary, has resulted in the recapture of numerous individuals enabling longitudinal and cross-sectional investigation of the role of adaptation to variable environmental conditions on feather morphology. We show th ...[more]

PMID: 30608973

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Project description:In migratory birds, early arrival on breeding sites is typically associated with greater breeding success, but the mechanisms driving these benefits are rarely known. One mechanism through which greater breeding success among early arrivers can potentially be achieved is the increased time available for replacement clutches following nest loss. However, the contribution of replacement clutches to breeding success will depend on seasonal variation in nest survival rates, and the consequences for juvenile recruitment of hatching at different times in the season. In particular, lower recruitment rates of late-hatched chicks could offset the benefits to early arrivers of being able to lay replacement clutches, which would reduce the likelihood of replacement clutch opportunities influencing selection on migratory timings. Using a simulation model of time-constrained capacity for replacement clutches, paramaterized with empirically-derived estimates from avian migratory systems, we show that greater reproductive success among early-arriving individuals can arise solely through the greater time capacity for replacement clutches among early arrivers, even when later renesting attempts contribute fewer recruits to the population. However, these relationships vary depending on the seasonal pattern of nest survival. The benefits of early arrival are greatest when nest survival rates are constant or decline seasonally, and early arrival is least beneficial when nest success rates increase over the breeding season, although replacement clutches can mitigate this effect. The time benefits of early arrival facilitating replacement clutches following nest loss may therefore be an important but overlooked source of selection on migratory timings. Empirical measures of seasonal variation in nest survival, renesting, and juvenile recruitment rates are therefore needed in order to identify the costs and benefits associated with individual migration phenology, the selection pressures influencing migratory timings, and the implications for ongoing shifts in migration and breeding phenology.

Dataset Information

Older birds have better feathers: A longitudinal study on the long-distance migratory Sand Martin, Riparia riparia.

Publications

Older birds have better feathers: A longitudinal study on the long-distance migratory Sand Martin, Riparia riparia.

Similar Datasets

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