Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year(sorted ascending) Filter | PMID Filter |
|---|
| use of observed wild bird activity on poultry farms and a literature review to target species as high priority for avian influenza testing in 2 regions of canada. | the risk of avian influenza outbreaks in poultry is partially dependent on the probability of contact between domestic poultry and wild birds shedding avian influenza (ai) virus. the major objective of this study was to document wild bird activity on poultry farms to determine which wild bird species should be targeted for ai surveillance in canada. we collected data in 2 major poultry producing regions of canada, southwestern ontario and the fraser valley of british columbia, on the relative ab ... | 0 | 22851777 |
| is chernobyl radiation really causing negative individual and population-level effects on barn swallows? | 0 | 18042513 | |
| homing experiments on birds. part xiii. the influence of terrestrial magnetism on homing ability in the swallow, hirundo rustica l. | 1978 | 738464 | |
| homing experiments on birds. part xii. influence of training and change in transport direction on homeward orientation of swallows hirundo rustica l. | 1979 | 535636 | |
| homing experiments on birds. part xiv. the influence of the route of transportation on the speed of return in the swallow (hirundo rustica l.). | 1979 | 499608 | |
| homing experiments on birds. part xv. the influence of radio waves on the homing of swallows (hirundo rustica l.). | 1980 | 7428978 | |
| time and energy constraints on the brood size of swallows, hirundo rustica, and sand martins, riparia riparia. | the daily energy requirements of swallow hirundo rustica and sand martin riparia riparia adults with broods of different sizes were compared with the energy (food) gain rates of adults. energy requirements of broods were obtained from food delivery rates, growth rates and from published data. the energy requirements of adults were obtained from d2o(18) measurements and from time budgets. energy gain rates were measured from food delivery rates to collared nestlings. these energy gain rates were ... | 1983 | 28310254 |
| energetics of free existence in swallows and martins (hirundinidae) during breeding: a comparative study using doubly labeled water. | energy metabolism of three sympatric swallows (hirundinidae) was investigated during the breeding season using doubly labeled water ((2)h2(18)o). interspecific and intraspecific differences in energy metabolism were examined in relation to the habits, size and environment of the birds. to facilitate comparisons we expressed energy metabolism (m) as the ratio of average daily metabolic rate (admr, cm(3)co2g(-1)h(-1)) to basal metabolic rate (bmr). we observed adults during incubation and when fee ... | 1984 | 28310891 |
| ontogenetic development of l-gulonolactone oxidase activity in several vertebrates. | activity of l-gulonolactone oxidase (ec 1.1.3.8) in livers of fetal rattus norvegicus and mus musculus was detectable on the 18th day of gestation, increased rapidly to maxima at 15 and 5 days postpartum for the two species, respectively, and thereafter declined to adult levels. l-gulonolactone oxidase was not detectable in liver or kidney of fetal guinea pigs at any stage of development. near-term fetal snowshoe hares had higher activities of liver l-gulonolactone oxidase than observed in a lar ... | 1984 | 6611240 |
| morphogenesis and comparative morphology of the nasal apparatus in the swallow (hirundo rustica l.) (morphogenesis of the nasal capsule, the epithelial nasal tube and the organ of jacobson in sauropsida xv). | 1985 | 4029829 | |
| acoustic adaptations for parent-offspring recognition in swallows. | we have used field and laboratory studies to investigate acoustic adaptations for parent-offspring recognition in two closely related pairs of swallows: (a) bank swallow (riparia riparia) and northern rough-winged swallow (stelgidopteryx serripennis), and (b) cliff swallow (hirundo pyrrhonota) and barn swallow (hirundo rustica). cross-fostering and playback experiments show that bank swallow and cliff swallow parents recognize their offspring by voice while rough-winged swallow and barn swallow ... | 1986 | 3525221 |
| serological examinations for antibodies against west nile virus, semlikivirus and chikungunyavirus in laboratory mice, parasitized by nidicole fauna from swallow's nests. | experimental mice in swallow's (nmri) nests highly infested with swallow bugs (hirundo rustica) revealed antibodies against west nile virus, semliki virus and chikungunya virus. additional nidicole ectoparasites were not controlled and could also play a role in the occurrence of infection in experimental mice. swallows and sparrows (passer domesticus) additional nest inhabitants appear to be the ultimate link in this infection pathway as swallow bugs seldom migrate into dwellings to infest human ... | 1988 | 3139492 |
| results of arbovirological examination of birds of the family hirundinidae in czechoslovakia. | migratory birds (swallow, hirundo rustica; sand martin, riparia riparia; house martin, delichon urbica) caught in southern moravia (czechoslovakia) in 1984-87 were examined for arbovirus infections. isolation experiments were carried out using blood samples of 183 birds (52 swallows, 107 sand martins, and 24 house martins). the results were negative. serological examinations of 136 birds (36 swallows, 86 sand martins, and 14 house martins) were made by haemagglutination-inhibition test (hit) usi ... | 1989 | 2562171 |
| evidence for neutral and selective processes in the recruitment of enzyme-crystallins in avian lenses. | in apparent contrast to most other tissues, the ocular lenses in vertebrates show striking differences in protein composition between taxa, most notably in the recruitment of different enzymes as major structural proteins. this variability appears to be the result of at least partially neutral evolutionary processes, although there is also evidence for selective modification in molecular structure. here we describe a bird, the chimney swift (chaetura pelagica), that lacks delta-crystallin/argini ... | 1990 | 2385592 |
| effects of a haematophagous mite on the barn swallow (hirundo rustica): a test of the hamilton and zuk hypothesis. | i tested three assumptions of the hamilton and zuk hypothesis (1982), which suggests that the extravagant male plumage of many bird species allows females to choose mates that are resistant to the parasites exploiting the host population at a given time. by choosing such males as mates, females will rear offspring carrying the genes for resistance. i tested three necessary conditions for the hamilton and zuk model: (1) whether parasites affect the fitness of their hosts; (2) whether there is her ... | 1990 | 28569014 |
| radionuclide uptake and growth of barn swallows nesting by radioactive leaching ponds. | populations of barn swallows (hirundo rustica) nested seasonally near the test reactor area (tra) radioactive leaching ponds on the idaho national engineering laboratory (inel). these birds utilized leaching pond arthropods as a food source and contaminated mud for nest construction and thus accumulated radioactive materials. over 20 fission and activation products were detected in immature and adult tra birds. the radionuclide exhibiting the highest mean concentration in adult birds was 51cr, w ... | 1990 | 2323925 |
| sexual selection in the monogamous barn swallow (hirundo rustica). i. determinants of tail ornament size. | the proportion of phenotypic variance in the length of the sexually selected tail of the monogamous barn swallow hirundo rustica that is attributable to genetic variance was studied in the field in denmark during a seven-year period. tail length was on average 20% greater in males than in females. tail length correlated with wing length, but not with other morphological traits. tail length increased with the first molt, but remained constant during subsequent years. changes in tail length betwee ... | 1991 | 28563968 |
| [oeciacus hirundinis from the nests of the swallows delichon urbica and hirundo rustica]. | in the years 1976-1989 392 nests of d. urbica and 584 nests of h. rustica were collected from 54 localities in 6 provinces in the north of poland. the highest mean number of specimens per nest was observed in the nest of d. urbica (28.4) and the lowest in nest of h. rustica (4.2). the highest percentage of nests of the swallows with oe. hirundinis was recorded in december and lowest in march. the highest mean number of oe. hirundinis per nest was in the nest of d. urbica in august and lowest in ... | 1991 | 1822044 |
| female swallow preference for symmetrical male sexual ornaments. | many secondary sexual characters are supposed to have evolved as a response to female choice of the most extravagantly ornamented males, a hypothesis supported by studies demonstrating female preferences for the most ornamented males. comparative studies of elaborate feather ornaments in birds have shown that (1) ornaments have larger degrees of fluctuating asymmetry (small, random deviations from bilateral symmetry caused by an inability of individuals to cope with environmental and genetic str ... | 1992 | 1589021 |
| sexual selection in the barn swallow hirundo rustica. iii. female tail ornaments. | male secondary sexual characters are often expressed in females, and the maintenance of the character in females can be due to either direct selection on females favoring the maintenance of the trait, or a correlated response to selection in males. here i report on determinants of and phenotypic selection on tail length of female barn swallows hirundo rustica. the homologous trait in males is under strong directional sexual selection. female tail length was positively associated with several rep ... | 1993 | 28568711 |
| female reproductive effort depends on the degree of ornamentation of their mates. | sexual selection theory assumes that secondary sexual characters do not influence female reproductive effort. female animals may invest relatively more in reproduction if they acquire mates of high phenotypic quality, because offspring sired by preferred males may be relatively more viable than offspring sired by less preferred males. here we report for the first time in a field study that females of the monogamous barn swallow hirundo rustica adjust their reproductive effort to the attractivene ... | 1993 | 28564285 |
| [ectoparasites from nests of swallows delichon urbica and hirundo rustica collected in autumn]. | in the years 1989-1990 53 nests of d. urbica and 47 nests of h. rustica were collected from resko (province szczecin). in 95 nests 2483 ectoparasites representing 3 species: c. hirundinis (73.1%), oe. hirundinis (26.5%) and c. gallinae (0.4%) were found. the highest mean number of specimens per nest was observed in the nest of d. urbica (29.5) and the lowest in nest of h. rustica (19.5). the highest (57) of nests was inhabited by 2 parasites species, 35 nests--by 1 and 3 nests--by 3 species. the ... | 1993 | 8128730 |
| two new species of eumegacetes looss, 1900 (digenea: eumegacetidae) from egyptian birds. | two new species of the genus eumegacetes looss, 1900 are described from avian hosts in sharkia province, egypt and these include eumegacetes (anterovitellum) pycnonotus n. sp. from the bulbul, pycnonotus barbatus, and e. (posthovitellum) hirundus n. sp. from the barn swallow hirundo rustica saviginii. the descriptions are based primarily on differences in the shape and elevation of the intestinal caeca, the position of the genital opening and the shape and distribution of the vitelline follicles ... | 1994 | 7844418 |
| blood esterase inhibition in birds as an index of organophosphorus contamination: field and laboratory studies. | : with the aim of developing a nondestructive biomarker (serum 'b' esterases) for monitoring bird populations exposed to azamethiphos s((6-chloro-2-oxooxazolo(4,5-b)pyridin-3(2h)-yl)methyl) 0,0-dimethyl phosphorothioate (9cl), parallel laboratory and field studies were performed. in japanese quail (coturnix coturnix japonica) treated with azamethiphos at 10 mg kg(-1), serum butyrylcholinesterase (bche) and carboxylesterase (ce) activities were inhibited by 88% and 35%, respectively, after 24 h. ... | 1994 | 24201863 |
| reproductive success of barn swallows nesting near a selenium-contaminated lake in east texas, usa. | reproductive success and contaminant levels in 1986 and 1987 were compared between barn swallows nesting at selenium-contaminated martin lake, texas, usa, and swallows nesting at a reference site. nests were initiated about the same time or earlier at martin lake than at the reference site and clutch size was similar between the two locations. nest success was significantly higher at martin lake than at the reference site and no embryo or chick deformities were documented. selenium concentration ... | 1994 | 15091724 |
| differential costs of a secondary sexual character: an experimental test of the handicap principle. | the evolution of reliable signaling can be explained by the handicap principle, which assumes that (1) the cost of a signal guarantees its reliability, and (2) cheating is prevented because the cost of a unit of display is greater for low-quality than for high-quality individuals. a test of these two assumptions was performed using manipulations of the length of the outermost tail feathers of male barn swallows hirundo rustica, a trait currently subject to a directional female mate preference. w ... | 1994 | 28568403 |
| male ornament size as a reliable cue to enhanced offspring viability in the barn swallow. | many extravagant secondary sexual characters are assumed to have evolved as a result of female choice, either because they attract females or because they reliably reflect the quality of males. females mating with the most ornamented individuals with a superior genotype are expected to benefit by producing more viable offspring. a viability advantage associated with mate choice can be demonstrated only if (i) parent ornament size reliably reflects parent viability and (ii) offspring viability is ... | 1994 | 8041723 |
| sexual selection in the barn swallow (hirundo rustica). iv. patterns of fluctuating asymmetry and selection against asymmetry. | the patterns of variation in fluctuating asymmetry were studied in four morphological characters of the barn swallow hirundo rustica. the level of absolute and relative asymmetry was larger in the secondary sexual character "outer tail length" than in three nonsexual morphological traits (wing, central tail, and tarsus length). the extent of individual asymmetry in outer tail length was negatively correlated with tail-ornament size, whereas the relationship between asymmetry of all other morphol ... | 1994 | 28568275 |
| the differential-allocation hypothesis: does the evidence support it? | 1995 | 28568542 | |
| resolving genetic relationships with microsatellite markers: a parentage testing system for the swallow hirundo rustica. | eight polymorphic microsatellite markers from the swallow were isolated and characterized. extraordinary variability was revealed at the hru6 locus with 45 different alleles scored among 46 unrelated individuals. the probability that the same genotype combination would occur in two random and unrelated individuals at six selected loci was as low as 1.3 x 10(-8) and the combined exclusion probability was 0.9996. stable mendelian inheritance was observed in about 1000 meioses. no significant linka ... | 1995 | 8574445 |
| scaling of hypercapnic ventilatory responsiveness in birds and mammals. | the possible relationship between co2 responsiveness and body mass in birds was explored using newly acquired ventilatory data from the barn swallow, hirundo rustica, and the pigeon, columbia livia, and that from the literature on four other species. ventilatory responsiveness (% delta v) of birds to 5% inspired co2 is scaled to body mass to the 0.145 power (% delta v alpha mb 0.145). a similar allometric relationship exists for data on 7 species of eutherian mammals taken from the literature (% ... | 1995 | 7770666 |
| new microsatellites from the pied flycatcher ficedula hypoleuca and the swallow hirundo rustica genomes. | 1996 | 8931360 | |
| sexual selection, viability selection, and developmental stability in the domestic fly musca domestica. | associations between developmental stability, sexual selection, and viability selection were studied in the domestic fly musca domestica (diptera, muscidae). developmental stability of the wings and tibia of flies of both sexes, measured in terms of their level of fluctuating asymmetry, was positively associated with mating success in free ranging populations and in sexual selection experiments. mated individuals may have obtained indirect fitness benefits from sexual selection of two different ... | 1996 | 28568932 |
| energetic cost of tail streamers in the barn swallow (hirundo rustica). | different hypotheses stress the importance of natural or sexual selection to explain the evolution and maintenance of long outermost tail feathers in the barn swallow (hirundo rustica). since energy costs are predicted to arise from tail length manipulation, we measured the daily energy expenditure in three experimental groups (tail-shortened, tail-elongated, and control birds) with the doubly labelled water technique. though we did not directly measure flight cost, we assumed this to be positiv ... | 1996 | 28307836 |
| an experimental study of paternity and tail ornamentation in the barn swallow (hirundo rustica). | previous studies of the socially monogamous barn swallow (hirundo rustica) have shown that males that most frequently engage in extrapair copulations and whose partners are least involved in copulations with extrapair males are those with long tail ornaments. in this study, through the use of three highly polymorphic microsatellite markers, we analyze the relationships between length of tail ornaments of male barn swallows and proportion of nestlings fathered in own broods, number of offspring f ... | 1997 | 28565341 |
| experimental manipulation of tail ornament size affects the hematocrit of male barn swallows (hirundo rustica). | ornamental tail feathers of male barn swallows (hirundo rustica) confer an advantage in sexual selection because long-tailed males are preferred by females. however, the size of tail ornaments exceeds the natural selection optimum and males are predicted to pay an energetic cost for flying, directly related to tail length. an increase in hematocrit is an adaptive response to enhance oxygen uptake, for example during periods of intense locomotory activity. in this study, we analyzed the effect of ... | 1997 | 28307423 |
| differential predation cost of a secondary sexual character: sparrowhawk predation on barn swallows. | models of reliable signalling assume that secondary sexual characters and other displays are more costly to individuals of low than high phenotypic quality, and that low quality individuals disproportionately compromise their reproduction and survival prospects by investment in signalling. a field study of barn swallows, hirundo rustica with sexually exaggerated tail feathers, supported this prediction. males were captured by sparrowhawks, accipiter nisus more often than females, and captured ma ... | 1997 | 9794779 |
| fitness loss and germline mutations in barn swallows breeding in chernobyl. | the severe nuclear accident at chernobyl in 1986 resulted in the worst reported accidental exposure of radioactive material to free-living organisms. short-term effects on human populations inhabiting polluted areas include increased incidence of thyroid cancer, infant leukaemia, and congenital malformations in newborns. two recent studies have reported, although with some controversy, that germline mutation rates were increased in humans and voles living close to chernobyl, but little is known ... | 1997 | 9335497 |
| immunocompetence, ornamentation, and viability of male barn swallows (hirundo rustica). | immunocompetence (i.e., the ability to produce an immune response to pathogens) can be predicted to influence the chances that organisms have to survive and reproduce. in this study we simulated a challenge to the immune systems of male barn swallows (hirundo rustica) by injecting them intraperitoneally with a multigenic antigen, sheep red blood cells, and we analyzed long-term survival in relation to their immunocompetence. males were assigned to four groups that differed for the treatment of t ... | 1997 | 9012821 |
| transgenic plants are sensitive bioindicators of nuclear pollution caused by the chernobyl accident. | to evaluate the genetic consequences of radioactive contamination originating from the nuclear reactor accident of chernobyl on indigenous populations of plants and animals, it is essential to determine the rates of accumulating genetic changes in chronically irradiated populations. an increase in germline mutation rates in humans living close to the chernobyl nuclear power plant site, and a two- to tenfold increase in germline mutations in barn swallows breeding in chernobyl have been reported. ... | 1998 | 9831035 |
| paternity and multiple signaling: effects of a secondary sexual character and song on paternity in the barn swallow. | multiple signals may evolve because they provide independent information on the condition of a signaler. females should pay attention to male characters relative to their reliability as signals of male attractiveness or quality. since behavioral traits are flexible and, therefore, subject to strong environmental influences, females should weigh stable morphological signals higher in their choice of mates for genetic benefits than flexible behavioral traits, for example, by paying particular atte ... | 1998 | 18811354 |
| nest building is a sexually selected behaviour in the barn swallow. | females may use male nest building to assess male parental quality, and nest size would then be a sexually selected trait. in the barn swallow, hirundo rustica, females select their partner by his tail length, a character believed to signal good genes. both sexes participate in nest building, although male participation is negatively related to his attractiveness as reflected by tail length. we tested the hypothesis that nest building is a sexually selected trait: females paired with males of hi ... | 1998 | 9933540 |
| differences in begging behaviour between barn swallow, hirundo rustica, nestlings. | recent models of parent-offspring communication suggest that nestling begging reliably reflects food requirements, and therefore should increase with nestling need. need may be affected by short-term variations in hunger, as well as by long-term factors such as relative size, growth rate and body condition. in the present study, the brood sizes of barn swallows were manipulated to create differences in nestling growth rate and body condition. the extent to which begging behaviour reflects these ... | 1998 | 9632469 |
| carotenoid plasma concentration, immune profile, and plumage ornamentation of male barn swallows (hirundo rustica). | carotenoids exert immunomodulating, immunostimulating, and antioxidant actions in mammals and are major determinants of coloration in animals. honest advertisement models of sexual selection propose that male ornaments, including coloration, are reliable indicators of male quality. because of their simultaneous effects on male coloration and immunity, carotenoids might mediate the hypothesized relationship between the expression of epigamic coloration and parasitism in vertebrates. we analyzed t ... | 1999 | 10523490 |
| sexual selection for white tail spots in the barn swallow in relation to habitat choice by feather lice. | many bird species have white spots in their tails or wing feathers, and such characters have been hypothesized to be either reliable signals (handicaps) or amplifiers that facilitate the message of a signal. in barn swallows, hirundo rustica, the size of the white spots in the tail feathers is sexually dimorphic and positively correlated with feather length. we tested whether such spots act as handicaps or amplifiers. these white spots affect sexual selection in barn swallows, as shown by an exp ... | 1999 | 10600140 |
| carotenoids, sexual signals and immune function in barn swallows from chernobyl. | carotenoids have been hypothesized to facilitate immune function and act as free-radical scavengers, thereby minimizing the frequency of mutations. populations of animals exposed to higher levels of free radicals are thus expected to demonstrate reduced sexual coloration if use of carotenoids for free-radical scavenging is traded against use for sexual signals. the intensity of carotenoid-based sexual coloration was compared among three populations of barn swallows hirundo rustica differing in e ... | 1999 | 10406129 |
| better red than dead: carotenoid-based mouth coloration reveals infection in barn swallow nestlings. | nestling birds solicit food from their parents by displaying their open brightly coloured gapes. carotenoids affect gape colour, but also play a central role in immunostimulation. therefore, we hypothesize that, by differentially allocating resources to nestlings with more brightly coloured gapes, parents favour healthy offspring which are able to allocate carotenoids to gape coloration without compromising their immune defence. we demonstrated that, in the barn swallow hirundo rustica, (i) pare ... | 2000 | 10670953 |
| survival and reproductive rate of mites in relation to resistance of their barn swallow hosts. | parasite resistance may act via a number of different mechanisms that regulate or control the survival and the reproductive rate of parasites. observations and experiments were used to test for effects of host resistance on parasite survival and rate of reproduction. natural levels of infestation of barn swallow hirundo rustica nests by the tropical fowl mite ornithonyssus bursa were positively related to brood size, inversely related to the length of the outermost tail feathers of male nest own ... | 2000 | 28308772 |
| horizontal flight of a swallow (hirundo rustica) observed in a wind tunnel, with a new method for directly measuring mechanical power. | a swallow flying in the lund wind tunnel was observed from the side and from behind, by two synchronised high-speed video cameras. the side-view camera provided a record of the vertical position of a white mark, applied to the feathers behind and below the eye, from which the vertical acceleration was obtained. the rear-view camera provided measurements of the mean angle of the left and right humeri above horizontal. from these data, the force acting on the body, the moment applied by each pecto ... | 2000 | 10804165 |
| begging and parental care in relation to offspring need and condition in the barn swallow (hirundo rustica). | parents are selected to maximize their fitness by allocating care among their progeny in relation to the differential reproductive value of offspring. nestlings have been hypothesized to signal need for parental care reliably through their begging behavior, but offspring condition as reflected by their reproductive value may likewise affect begging and hence provisioning. we assessed the relative importance of need and condition in determining begging behavior and feeding rate of nestling barn s ... | 2000 | 29592546 |
| immunoglobulin plasma concentration in relation to egg laying and mate ornamentation of female barn swallows (hirundo rustica). | in vertebrates, offspring have a relatively inefficient immune system soon after birth. female birds transmit immunoglobulins to the egg, which can confer protection against parasites to their offspring after hatching, but allocation of immune factors can depend on the reproductive value of the offspring as affected, for example, by the quality of their father. we analyse the variation in immunoglobulin levels of female barn swallows (hirundo rustica) during the breeding cycle in relation to the ... | 2001 | 29280578 |
| the effects of temperature, altitude and latitude on the arrival and departure dates of the swallow hirundo rustica in the slovak republic. | the (barn) swallow hirundo rustica is a traditional harbinger of spring in many countries of the northern hemisphere. this paper uses information on the arrival and departure dates of the swallow in the slovak republic for the 30 years 1961-1985 and 1996-2000. records were taken at 19 locations throughout the republic representing an altitude range from 105 m to 760 m. monthly temperature data were constructed from six meteorological stations. with the use of regression techniques, trends toward ... | 2001 | 11769323 |
| enantiomeric composition of chiral polychlorinated biphenyl atropisomers in aquatic and riparian biota. | the enantiomeric composition of polychlorinated biphenyl (pcb) atropisomers was measured in river and riparian biota (fish, bivalves, crayfish, water snakes, barn swallows) from selected sites throughout the united states by using chiral gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. nonracemic enantiomeric fractions (efs) were observed for pcbs 91, 95, 136, and 149 for aquatic and riparian biota from lake hartwell, sc, a reservoir heavily contaminated with pcbs, and for these congeners and pcbs 132, 174 ... | 2001 | 11432547 |
| heritability of arrival date in a migratory bird. | the behaviour of long-distance migratory birds is assumed to partly be under the influence of genes, as demonstrated by selection experiments. furthermore, competition for early arrival among males may lead to condition-dependent migration associated with fitness benefits of early arrival achieved by individuals in prime condition. here i present field data on the repeatability and the heritability of arrival date in a trans-equatorial migratory bird, the barn swallow hirundo rustica, and i test ... | 2001 | 11209892 |
| flight kinematics of the barn swallow (hirundo rustica) over a wide range of speeds in a wind tunnel. | two barn swallows (hirundo rustica) flying in the lund wind tunnel were filmed using synchronised high-speed cameras to obtain posterior, ventral and lateral views of the birds in horizontal flapping flight. we investigated wingbeat kinematics, body tilt angle, tail spread and angle of attack at speeds of 4-14 ms(-1). wingbeat frequency showed a clear u-shaped relationship with air speed with minima at 8.9 ms(-1)(bird 1) and 8.7 ms(-1) (bird 2). a method previously used by other authors of estim ... | 2001 | 11533124 |
| albinism and phenotype of barn swallows (hirundo rustica) from chernobyl. | the effects of mutation on phenotypic expression are supposed to be mainly deleterious because mutations disrupt the expression of genes that function relatively well under current environmental conditions. thus, mutations are assumed to give rise to deviant phenotypes that are generally selected against. radioactive contamination in the chernobyl region of ukraine is associated with a significant increase by a factor two to 10 in mutation rate in microsatellite markers of the barn swallow, hiru ... | 2001 | 11761068 |
| flexibility in flight behaviour of barn swallows (hirundo rustica) and house martins (delichon urbica) tested in a wind tunnel. | the flight behaviour of barn swallows (hirundo rustica) and house martins (delichon urbica) was tested in a wind tunnel at 15 combinations of flight angles and speeds. in contrast to that of most other small passerines, the intermittent flight of hirundines rarely consists of regular patterns of flapping and rest phases. to vary mechanical power output, both species used intermittent flight, controlling the number of single, pulse-like wingbeats per unit time. house martins in descent tended to ... | 2001 | 11273808 |
| protein loss during long-distance migratory flight in passerine birds: adaptation and constraint. | during long-distance flights, birds catabolize not only fat but also protein. because there is no storage form of protein, protein catabolism entails a structural or functional loss. in this study, we investigated which organs were most reduced in lean mass during different phases of fat store loss and whether protein loss can be regarded as adaptive or as a constraint. body and organ composition were analysed both during the autumn migration over continental europe (sample from switzerland) and ... | 2002 | 11907058 |
| wingbeat frequency of barn swallows and house martins: a comparison between free flight and wind tunnel experiments. | the flight paths and wingbeat patterns of 39 barn swallows (hirundo rustica) and 26 house martins (delichon urbica) were recorded by tracking radar during the spring migration. depending mostly on flight angle, hirundines performed anything from continuous flapping flight during climbing to single pulse-like wing beats during descent. unlike most other passerines, hirundines rarely showed regular flapping and rest phases, allowing them to be distinguished from other bird migrants by radar echo s ... | 2002 | 12124369 |
| early maternal effects mediated by immunity depend on sexual ornamentation of the male partner. | vertebrates have an immature immune system soon after birth, and parasites can therefore be particularly virulent to young hosts. transfer of immune factors via the egg can give rise to early maternal effects with important consequences for offspring fitness, as maternally derived immunity confers anti-parasite protection. mothers are expected to allocate immunity differentially to the eggs according to the reproductive value of their offspring as influenced by the quality of their father. in th ... | 2002 | 12028756 |
| carotenoid concentration in barn swallow eggs is influenced by laying order, maternal infection and paternal ornamentation. | carotenoids are critical to embryonic development, immunity and protection from oxidative stress. transmission of carotenoids to the eggs may affect development and maturation of immunity in offspring, but carotenoids may be available to females in limiting amounts. females may thus transfer carotenoids to the eggs differentially in relation to the reproductive value of the offspring as affected by sexual ornamentation of their father. in this study of maternal allocation of carotenoids to the e ... | 2002 | 12204135 |
| ectoparasites and reproductive trade-offs in the barn swallow (hirundo rustica). | parents are predicted to trade offspring number and quality against the costs of reproduction. in altricial birds, parasites can mediate these costs because intensity of parasitism may increase with parental effort. in addition, parasites may mediate a trade-off between offspring number and quality because nestlings in large broods may have reduced anti-parasite immune defence. in this study, we experimentally analysed the effect of brood size on infestation by an ectoparasitic mite in nests of ... | 2002 | 28547300 |
| polychlorinated-naphthalenes, -biphenyls, -dibenzo-p-dioxins, -dibenzofurans and p,p'-dde in bluefin tuna, swordfish, cormorants and barn swallows from italy. | concentrations of p,p'-dde, polychlorinated biphenyl congeners (pcbs), polychlorinated-dibenzo-p-dioxins (pcdds), -dibenzofurans (pcdfs) and -naphthalenes (pcns) were measured in bluefin tuna, swordfish, common cormorants, and barn swallows collected from italy. average concentrations of pcbs in livers of tuna, swordfish, cormorant, and swallows were 930, 745, 1420 and 1230 ng pcbs g-1, w.w. respectively. p,p'-dde was found in tuna, swordfish, cormorant, and swallow livers at mean concentrations ... | 2002 | 12164129 |
| offspring sexual dimorphism and sex-allocation in relation to parental age and paternal ornamentation in the barn swallow. | we analysed the morphology of nestling barn swallows (hirundo rustica) in relation to their sex, and laying and hatching order. in addition, we studied sex-allocation in relation to parentage, parental age and expression of a secondary sexual character of fathers. molecular sexing was conducted using the sex chromosome-linked avian chd1 gene. sex of the offspring was not associated with laying or hatching order. none of nine morphological, serological and immunological variables varied in relati ... | 2002 | 12144672 |
| how do birds' tails work? delta-wing theory fails to predict tail shape during flight. | birds appear to use their tails during flight, but until recently the aerodynamic role that tails fulfil was largely unknown. in recent years delta-wing theory, devised to predict the aerodynamics of high-performance aircraft, has been applied to the tails of birds and has been successful in providing a model for the aerodynamics of a bird's tail. this theory now provides the conventional explanation for how birds' tails work. a delta-wing theory (slender-wing theory) has been used, as part of a ... | 2002 | 12028763 |
| heterogeneity in the rate and pattern of germline mutation at individual microsatellite loci. | there is a lack of information on how individual microsatellite loci differ with respect to their mutation properties. such variation will have an important bearing on our understanding of the ubiquitous occurrence of simple repeat sequences in eukaryotic genomes and on deriving proper mutation models that can be incorporated into genetic distance estimates. we genotyped approximately 100 families of the bird barn swallow (hirundo rustica) for two hypervariable (heterozygosity >95%) microsatelli ... | 2002 | 11972338 |
| state-dependent behaviour in breeding barn swallows (hirundo rustica): consequences for reproductive effort. | life-history theory offers an explanation for the intraspecific variation in reproductive effort; increased levels of current reproductive success, for example, may trade off against residual reproductive value. even where such trade-offs have been demonstrated, however, much variation in effort remains unexplained and the underlying causes are usually obscure. we examined body state, i.e. energy reserves, as a factor, which could moderate reproductive effort. specifically, overnight heating and ... | 2002 | 11886629 |
| humoral immune response in relation to senescence, sex and sexual ornamentation in the barn swallow (hirundo rustica). | performance of animals may decline with age. the effects of senescence, however, may differ between the sexes because of differences in physiology and behaviour. acquired immunity provides hosts with efficient mechanisms of anti-parasite defence, but the effect of senescence on immunocompetence has never been studied in natural populations. in the barn swallow (hirundo rustica), primary antibody response to an antigen during one breeding season declined with age in females, while secondary respo ... | 2003 | 14640404 |
| an illustration of variable precision rough set theory: the gender classification of the european barn swallow (hirundo rustica). | this paper introduces a new technique in the investigation of object classification and illustrates the potential use of this technique for the analysis of a range of biological data, using avian morphometric data as an example. the nascent variable precision rough sets (vprs) model is introduced and compared with the decision tree method id3 (through a 'leave n out' approach), using the same dataset of morphometric measures of european barn swallows (hirundo rustica) and assessing the accuracy ... | 2003 | 12909253 |
| a new species of parasitic mites of the genus syringophiloidus kethley 1970 (acari: syringophilidae) from the barn swallow hirundo rustica linnaeus, 1758. | a new quill mite species syringophiloidus hirundinis (acari: syringophilidae) is described from the barn swallow hirundo rustica. the species syringophiloidus hirundinis had a prevalence of 17.1% in the two outermost tail feathers (n = 208 adult barn swallows) during the breeding season of the barn swallow host. intensity of infestation was 9.7 adult mites per pair of infested tail feathers. the sex ratio was highly biased towards females, with only 7.5% of all individuals being males (20:3). | 2003 | 12669345 |
| experimental manipulation of egg carotenoids affects immunity of barn swallow nestlings. | the yolk of bird eggs contains maternal carotenoids that may act as antioxidants thus influencing offspring performance and survival. however, to our knowledge, this hypothesis has not been subjected to experimental tests and the function of transmission of carotenoids to the egg is largely unknown. we directly manipulated the concentration of the main carotenoid (lutein) in the eggs of barn swallows (hirundo rustica) and analysed the effect of experimental manipulation on growth of nestlings an ... | 2003 | 14667340 |
| maternal antibodies but not carotenoids in barn swallow eggs covary with embryo sex. | mothers influence their offspring phenotype by varying egg quality. such maternal effects may be mediated by transmission of antibodies and antioxidants. mothers should adjust allocation of maternal substances depending on embryonic sex because of differences in reproductive value, potentially dependent on paternal genetic effects as reflected by secondary sexual characters. we manipulated sexual attractiveness of male barn swallows (hirundo rustica) and investigated maternal investment in eggs ... | 2003 | 14635852 |
| mutation and sexual selection: a test using barn swallows from chernobyl. | secondary sexual characters have been hypothesized to be particularly susceptible to the deleterious effects of mutation because the expression of such characters is usually influenced by many more metabolic pathways than are ordinary morphological characters. we tested this hypothesis using the elevated mutation rates in the barn swallow (hirundo rustica) of the chernobyl region of ukraine as a model system. a great deal is known about the relative importance of different characters for male ma ... | 2003 | 14575333 |
| digenetic trematodes, acanthatrium sp. and lecithodendrium sp., as vectors of neorickettsia risticii, the agent of potomac horse fever. | neorickettsia (formerly ehrlichia) risticii, the agent of potomac horse fever (phf), has been recently detected in trematode stages found in the secretions of freshwater snails and in aquatic insects. insectivores, such as bats and birds, may serve as the definitive host of the trematode vector. to determine the definitive helminth vector, five bats (myotis yumanensis) and three swallows (hirundo rustica, tachycineta bicolor) were collected from a phf endemic location in northern california. bat ... | 2003 | 14627451 |
| vane emargination of outer tail feathers improves flight manoeuvrability in streamerless hirundines, hirundinidae. | recent studies have suggested that the proximal part of the swallow (hirundo rustica) tail streamer appears to aid turning flight, as expected if streamers evolved initially purely through natural selection for enhanced manoeuvrability. however, the evolution of slender aerodynamically advantageous streamers is also predicted by an alternative hypothesis, which suggests that such a trait could develop primarily to ameliorate the aerodynamic cost of a long size-dimorphic tail. to distinguish betw ... | 2004 | 15315899 |
| genetic variation in infestation with a directly transmitted ectoparasite. | genetic variation in levels of parasitism of hosts is an underlying assumption of studies of coevolution, but few such estimates are available from the field. we studied genetic variation in the abundance of the chewing louse hirundoecus malleus on its barn swallow host hirundo rustica. these parasites are directly transmitted and a test of genetic variation of parasite abundance would thus provide a particularly strong test. the prevalence and the abundance of the chewing lice did not differ si ... | 2004 | 15000646 |
| declining immunity with age in the wild. | despite their higher metabolic rates and lifetime energy expenditures, birds generally outlive similar-sized mammals even in the wild, often reaching maturity and aging considerably more slowly. wild populations of many bird species have been monitored for years using banding-and-recapture methods, allowing field ornithologists to document age-related declines in survival and reproductive success. although elderly birds rarely reach advanced stages of senescence in nature, many show other signs ... | 2004 | 15163848 |
| daily energy expenditure of male barn swallows correlates with tail-streamer length: handicap-mediated foraging strategies. | daily energy expenditure (dee) of male barn swallows (hirundo rustica), measured using the doubly labelled water technique, correlated with streamer length. contrary to predictions derived from previous findings, neither a positive linear nor a u-shaped relationship was found between dee and streamer length. instead, an n-shaped curve showed that the highest dee corresponded to an intermediate streamer length of 119 mm. a model incorporating estimates of resting metabolism and flight energy expe ... | 2004 | 15252971 |
| geographic variation in the g matrices of wild populations of the barn swallow. | in this paper, we present an analysis of genetic variation in three wild populations of the barn swallow, hirundo rustica. we estimated the p, e, and g matrices for six linear morphological measurements and tested for variation among populations using the flury hierarchical method and the jackknife followed by manova method. because of nonpositive-definite matrices, we had to employ 'bending' to analyse the g and e matrices with the flury method. both statistical methods agree in finding that th ... | 2004 | 15218508 |
| ecological conditions during winter affect sexual selection and breeding in a migratory bird. | populations of migratory birds have undergone marked declines, although the causes and mechanisms remain unknown. because environmental effects on population dynamics are mediated by the effects of ecological factors on individuals, understanding changes in individual phenotypes in response to ecological conditions is key to understanding population trends. we show that breeding individuals of a declining population of trans-saharan migratory barn swallows, hirundo rustica, were affected by envi ... | 2004 | 15209100 |
| individual variation in microsatellite mutation rate in barn swallows. | the hypermutable nature of some microsatellite loci implies realistic possibilities for the large-scale detection of germline mutations by pedigree analysis. we have developed a model system for mutation analysis by the characterisation of patterns of mutation at three hypervariable microsatellites (two tetranucleotide and one pentanucleotide repeat loci) in barn swallows, all three markers having mutation rates at the percentage level. here, we study how the mutation rate varies between individ ... | 2004 | 14698418 |
| heterogeneity in stable isotope profiles predicts coexistence of populations of barn swallows hirundo rustica differing in morphology and reproductive performance. | population studies assume that individuals belonging to a study population are homogeneous for natal and breeding origin, although this assumption is rarely tested. we tested for heterogeneity in stable-isotope profiles (delta15n, delta13c, deltad) of feathers grown in the african winter quarters from a danish breeding population of adult barn swallows, hirundo rustica. deuterium isotope values did not provide useful information on population segregation of wintering swallows in africa. however, ... | 2004 | 15306333 |
| adaptive site selection rules and variation in group size of barn swallows: individual decisions predict population patterns. | variation in group size is ubiquitous among socially breeding organisms. an alternative to the traditional examination of average reproductive success in groups of different sizes is to examine individual decision making by determining the cues used for site selection. once factors used for decision making are known, one can determine whether group-level patterns, such as group size variation, are emergent properties of individual-level decision rules. the advantage of this alternative approach ... | 2004 | 15278838 |
| reproduction and migration in relation to senescence in the barn swallow hirundo rustica: a study of avian 'centenarians'. | a. p. moller, f. de lope and n. saino: reproduction and migration in relation to senescence in the barn swallow hirundo rustica: a study of avian 'centenarians'. senescence reflects the decrease in age-dependent residual reproductive value, and a previous study of a cohort of migratory barn swallows (hirundo rustica) that had reached advanced ages for this species (at least five years old) provided evidence consistent with senescence such as reduced reproductive performance and increased abundan ... | 2005 | 23598664 |
| behavioural and energetic responses to body state in male and female barn swallows (hirundo rustica). | females and males often have different roles when attending young. the factors responsible for shifts in the balance of effort when both sexes provision their young are not clear. this study asked if sex-specific behaviour and provisioning rules in barn swallows (hirundo rustica) were dependent on individual body-state or affected by the state of their provisioning partner. to assess this male and female barn swallows underwent overnight warming manipulations whilst provisioning 10-14 day old ne ... | 2005 | 15846052 |
| rapid evolutionary change in a secondary sexual character linked to climatic change. | the ability of organisms to respond evolutionarily to rapid climatic change is poorly known. secondary sexual characters show the potential for rapid evolutionary change, as evidenced by strong divergence among species and high evolvability. here we show that the length of the outermost tail feathers of males of the socially monogamous barn swallow hirundo rustica, feathers that provide a mating advantage to males, has increased by more than 1 standard deviation during the period from 1984 to 20 ... | 2005 | 15715854 |
| dynamic paternity allocation as a function of male plumage color in barn swallows. | paternity in male animals can be influenced by their phenotypic signals of quality. accordingly, the behavior underlying patterns of paternity should be flexible as signals of quality change. to evaluate the dynamics of paternity allocation, we analyzed paternity before and after manipulating plumage coloration, a known signal of quality, in male barn swallows hirundo rustica. we found that, in successive breeding bouts, only males whose plumage color was experimentally enhanced received greater ... | 2005 | 16195460 |
| extrapair mating between relatives in the barn swallow: a role for kin selection? | why do females of many species mate with more than one male? one of the main hypotheses suggests that female promiscuity is an insurance mechanism against the potential detrimental effects of inbreeding. accordingly, females should preferably mate with less related males in multiple or extrapair mating. here we analyse paternity, relatedness among mating partners, and relatedness between parents and offspring, in the socially monogamous north american barn swallow (hirundo rustica erythrogaster) ... | 2005 | 17148214 |
| stressed mothers lay eggs with high corticosterone levels which produce low-quality offspring. | organisms frequently encounter stressful ecological conditions. in vertebrates, a major mechanism of physiological response to stress is mediated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and results in increased secretion of glucocorticosteroids, which can have adverse consequences on diverse phenotypic traits affecting fitness. maternal stress may thus have carry-over effects on progeny if it influences pre-natal offspring environment in terms of glucocorticosteroid concentration, although th ... | 2005 | 16217808 |
| timing of incorporation of docosahexaenoic acid into brain and muscle phospholipids during precocial and altricial modes of avian development. | we investigated the possibilities that the proportion of docosahexaenoic acid (dha) in phospholipids of brain and skeletal muscle at hatch, and the ontogenetic timing of the dha accretion spurt in these tissues, might serve as indices of neonatal functional maturity that discriminate between precocial and altricial avian developmental modes. comparison of the fatty acid profiles of the initial and residual yolks of two free-living altricial species, the swallow (hirundo rustica) and the sparrow ... | 2005 | 15939318 |
| antioxidants, radiation and mutation as revealed by sperm abnormality in barn swallows from chernobyl. | reduced levels of antioxidants such as carotenoids and vitamins a and e can increase dna damage caused by free radicals. exposure to radiation has been proposed to reduce levels of antioxidants that are used for dna repair and this reduction may be responsible for increased levels of mutation in radioactively contaminated areas. we test this hypothesis using field measures of antioxidants in blood, liver and eggs of the barn swallow hirundo rustica while relating these to levels of mutation as r ... | 2005 | 15705548 |
| avian immunosenescence. | immunosenescence, the aging of the immune system, is well studied in humans. mammalian immune systems become less capable of fighting pathogens and individuals become more susceptible to infection and cancer in their elder years. little is currently published on avian immunosenescence even though avian immune function has been well characterized and birds have been critical models in the study of immunology. the value of birds in the study of aging has been well established. evidence demonstrate ... | 2005 | 23598661 |
| germ-line mutations at a mouse estr (pc-3) locus and human microsatellite loci. | we examined the use of the mouse pc-3 estr (expanded simple tandem repeat) locus and 72 human microsatellite loci as potentially sensitive biomarkers for mutagenic exposures to germ cells in mice and humans respectively. in the mouse work, we treated male mice with tcdd (2, 3, 7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin; a chemical known to induce congenital anomalies in humans and mice) and, analysed the f(1) fetuses for pc-3 mutations. although the incidence of anomalies was higher in the tcdd group, the ... | 2006 | 17019050 |
| barn swallows before barns: population histories and intercontinental colonization. | the barn swallow (hirundo rustica) is one of most widely distributed swallows, owing in part to its recent switch from natural nest sites to human structures. we conducted phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial (mt) and nuclear dna to explore the recent evolutionary history of this species. strongly supported mtdna clades corresponded to europe, asia and north america plus the baikal region of asia. analysis of sequence data from a sex-linked nuclear gene was unable to recover the phylogenetic s ... | 2006 | 16720398 |
| chernobyl as a population sink for barn swallows: tracking dispersal using stable-isotope profiles. | stable-isotope profiles of feathers can reveal the location or habitat used by individual birds during the molting period. heterogeneity in isotope profiles will reflect heterogeneity in molt locations, but also heterogeneity in breeding locations, because spatial heterogeneity in molt locations will be congruent with spatial heterogeneity in breeding locations in species with high connectivity between breeding and molting sites. we used information on the congruence of spatial heterogeneity in ... | 2006 | 17069364 |
| predicting the consequences of carry-over effects for migratory populations. | migratory animals present a unique challenge for predicting population size because they are influenced by events in multiple stages of the annual cycle that are separated by large geographic distances. here, we develop a model that incorporates non-fatal carry-over effects to predict changes in population size and show how this can be integrated with predictive models of habitat loss and deterioration. examples from barn swallows, greater snow geese and american redstarts show how carry-over ef ... | 2006 | 17148350 |
| yolk androgens in the barn swallow (hirundo rustica): a test of some adaptive hypotheses. | maternal effects such as androgen in avian eggs can mediate evolutionary responses to selection, allowing manipulation of offspring phenotype and promoting trans-generational adaptive effects. we tested the predictions of two adaptive hypotheses that have been proposed to explain female variation in yolk androgen allocation in birds, using the barn swallow hirundo rustica as a model. we found no support for the first hypothesis proposing that yolk androgen varies as a function of breeding densit ... | 2006 | 16405584 |
| the design of complex sexual traits in male barn swallows: associations between signal attributes. | variation in the expression of sexually selected traits among individuals is widely investigated on the premise that these traits evolved to signal male quality. significant repeatabilities of sexual signals and their associations with condition, mating success, survivorship and age may be the signatures of sexual selection. however, little is known about the relationship between these sexual attributes. here we studied 28 acoustic and visual traits in the barn swallow, hirundo rustica, that may ... | 2006 | 17040402 |
| contaminant exposure of barn swallows nesting on bayou d'inde, calcasieu estuary, louisiana, usa. | current and historical point source discharges, storm water runoff, and accidental spills have contaminated the water, sediment, and biota within the calcasieu estuary in southwestern louisiana. in 2003, barn swallow (hirundo rustica) eggs and nestlings were collected beneath two bridges that cross bayou d'inde, the most contaminated waterway within the calcasieu estuary. samples were also collected from a bridge over bayou teche, a reference site in south central louisiana. polychlorinated biph ... | 2006 | 16779575 |
| an analysis of continent-wide patterns of sexual selection in a passerine bird. | patterns of selection are widely believed to differ geographically, causing adaptation to local environmental conditions. however, few studies have investigated patterns of phenotypic selection across large spatial scales. we quantified the intensity of selection on morphology in a monogamous passerine bird, the barn swallow hirundo rustica, using 6495 adults from 22 populations distributed across europe and north africa. according to the classical darwin-fisher mechanism of sexual selection in ... | 2006 | 16739465 |