Weather-mediated natural selection on arrival time in cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) |
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Authors: | C R Brown Mary Bomberger Brown |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biological Sciences, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK 74104, USA e-mail: charles-brown@utulsa.edu Tel.: +1-918-6313943, Fax: +1-918-6312762, US |
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Abstract: | An unusually long period of cold weather in May 1996 caused extensive mortality among insectivorous cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) in the northern and central Great Plains. We analyzed how viability selection affected spring arrival time in a migratory
Nebraska population by comparing capture histories of survivors with those of birds known to have died and by documenting
how arrival time changed in the year following the selection event. Surviving birds had significantly later first-capture
dates (an index of arrival time) in the years prior to selection than those that died; a significant selection differential
suggested directional selection for birds that arrived later. Colony sites were occupied significantly later following the
selection event, and the distribution of first-capture dates in the season after selection was significantly shifted toward
later arrivals. Offspring of the survivors tended to arrive later than birds of the same age prior to the selection event.
While major weather-caused mortality events of this magnitude are rare in the study area, spells of cold weather severe enough
to cause limited mortality are frequent in April and early May. At least 25 probable mortality events of varying severity
were identified in the last 50 years based on climatological data. Periodic weather-mediated selection against early arrival
constrains the cliff swallow’s breeding season and may partly prevent directional selection for earlier nesting.
Received: 19 October 1999 / Received in revised form: 15 January 2000 / Accepted: 24 January 2000 |
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Keywords: | Climate Life history Mortality Nebraska Seasonality Survival |
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