WEATHER IN THE BREEDING AREA AND DURING MIGRATION AFFECTS THE DEMOGRAPHY OF A SMALL LONG-DISTANCE PASSERINE MIGRANT

Abstract Migratory birds are subject to the effects of various weather systems during the year. Fluctuations in population size may depend on survivorship of juveniles and adults at various stages of the annual cycle. Severe weather conditions can lower survival, especially in migrating passerines that feed on insects. We investigated the effects of climate and density dependence on survival in a population of Common House-Martins (Delichon urbicum), including variables of weather experienced both in their breeding areas and during autumn migration. Unfavorable weather conditions during autumn migration had a severe negative effect on adult apparent survival, irrespective of sex; whereas temperature in the breeding area and population size explained a significant proportion of variance in juvenile survival. Thus, weather conditions experienced in different areas can regulate various age classes in different ways, which suggests that climate change can have a significant but complex influence on demography in passerine populations.

[1]  M. Brown,et al.  Group size and ectoparasitism affect daily survival probability in a colonial bird , 2004, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

[2]  F. Hunter,et al.  Annual adult survival of Least Auklets (Aves, Alcidae) varies with large-scale climatic conditions of the North Pacific Ocean , 2002, Oecologia.

[3]  A. Møller,et al.  Survival rate of adult barn swallows Hirundo rustica in relation to sexual selection and reproduction , 2002 .

[4]  A. Hedenström,et al.  Climate patterns and the stochastic dynamics of migratory birds , 2002 .

[5]  Erik Matthysen,et al.  Demographic Characteristics and Population Dynamical Patterns of Solitary Birds , 2002, Science.

[6]  A. Møller.  North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) effects of climate on the relative importance of first and second clutches in a migratory passerine bird , 2002 .

[7]  F. Spina,et al.  Ecological barriers shaping fuel stores in barn swallows Hirundo rustica following the central and western Mediterranean flyways , 2002 .

[8]  Kenneth P. Burnham,et al.  Evaluation of some random effects methodology applicable to bird ringing data , 2002 .

[9]  B. Sæther,et al.  Disentangling the sources of variation in the survival of the European dipper , 2002 .

[10]  David R. Anderson,et al.  Estimation of long-term trends and variation in avian survival probabilities using random effects models , 2002 .

[11]  James W. Hurrell,et al.  The North Atlantic Oscillation: Past, present, and future , 2001, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[12]  N. Stenseth,et al.  Ecological effects of the North Atlantic Oscillation , 2001, Oecologia.

[13]  R T Holmes,et al.  Impacts of a global climate cycle on population dynamics of a migratory songbird. , 2000, Science.

[14]  S. Engen,et al.  Population dynamical consequences of climate change for a small temperate songbird. , 2000, Science.

[15]  B. Sæther,et al.  Temporal and spatial variation in survival rates of a house sparrow, Passer domesticus, metapopulation , 1999 .

[16]  M. Brown,et al.  INTENSE NATURAL SELECTION ON BODY SIZE AND WING AND TAIL ASYMMETRY IN CLIFF SWALLOWS DURING SEVERE WEATHER , 1998, Evolution; international journal of organic evolution.

[17]  James D. Nichols,et al.  Estimation of temporal variability of survival in animal populations , 1998 .

[18]  A. Pilastro,et al.  Weather conditions and fat accumulation dynamics in pre-migratory roosting Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica , 1997 .

[19]  J. Gaillard,et al.  Early survival in roe deer: causes and consequences of cohort variation in two contrasted populations , 1997, Oecologia.

[20]  Thomas C. Peterson,et al.  Maximum and Minimum Temperature Trends for the Globe , 1997 .

[21]  T. Szép.  Survival rates of Hungarian sand martins and their relationship with Sahel rainfall , 1995 .

[22]  David R. Anderson,et al.  Model selection strategy in the analysis of capture-recapture data , 1995 .

[23]  J. Hurrell.  Decadal Trends in the North Atlantic Oscillation: Regional Temperatures and Precipitation , 1995, Science.

[24]  David R. Anderson,et al.  Modeling Survival and Testing Biological Hypotheses Using Marked Animals: A Unified Approach with Case Studies , 1992 .

[25]  S. Ormerod.  The influence of weather on the body mass of migrating swallows Hirundo rustics in South Wales , 1989 .

[26]  A. Turner,et al.  A Handbook to the Swallows and Martins of the World , 1989 .

[27]  K. Yasukawa.  Reproductive Success, T.H. Clutton-Brock (Ed.). The University of Chicago Press, Chicago (1988), ix , 1989 .

[28]  David R. Anderson,et al.  Design and Analysis Methods for Fish Survival Experiments Based on Release-Recapture. , 1988 .

[29]  R. Prinzinger,et al.  Ontogeny of metabolism, thermoregulation and torpor in the house martin Delichon u. urbica (L.) and its ecological significance , 1988, Oecologia.

[30]  Gareth A. Jones.  Time and energy constraints during incubation in free-living swallows (Hirundo rustica): an experimental study using precision electronic balances , 1987 .

[31]  D. Bryant.  Reproductive Costs in the House Martin (Delichon urbica) , 1979 .

[32]  D. Bryant.  The Factors Influencing the Selection of Food by the House Martin (Delichon urbica (L.)) , 1973 .

[33]  C. B. Williams.  Studies in the effect of weather conditions on the activity and abundance of insect populations , 1961, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences.

[34]  C. Williams.  Changes in insect populations in the field in relation to preceding weather conditions , 1951, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B - Biological Sciences.

[35]  W. Sutherland,et al.  Climate Influences on avian population dynamics , 2004 .

[36]  Byron J. T. Morgan,et al.  Factors influencing Soay sheep survival , 2000 .

[37]  K. Burnham,et al.  Program MARK: survival estimation from populations of marked animals , 1999 .

[38]  H. Löhrl.  Die Auswirkungen einer Witterungskatastrophe auf den Brutbestand der Mehlschwalbe (Delichon urbica) in verschiedenen Orten in Südwestdeutschland , 1971 .

[39]  Kai Curry-Lindahi,et al.  Handbuch der Vogel Mitteleuropas , 1970 .