Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T11:58:18.375Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The breeding ecology of the barn swallow Hirundo rustica gutturalis in South China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 May 2016

Emilio Pagani-Núñez ,
Chao He ,
Biao Li ,
Ming Li ,
Ruchuan He ,
Aiwu Jiang  and
Eben Goodale
Emilio Pagani-Núñez*
Affiliation:
Behavioural and Community Ecology, Conservation Biology Group, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, No. 100 Daxue Road, Nanning, Guangxi 530005, People's Republic of China
Chao He
Affiliation:
Behavioural and Community Ecology, Conservation Biology Group, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, No. 100 Daxue Road, Nanning, Guangxi 530005, People's Republic of China
Biao Li
Affiliation:
Behavioural and Community Ecology, Conservation Biology Group, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, No. 100 Daxue Road, Nanning, Guangxi 530005, People's Republic of China
Ming Li
Affiliation:
Behavioural and Community Ecology, Conservation Biology Group, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, No. 100 Daxue Road, Nanning, Guangxi 530005, People's Republic of China
Ruchuan He
Affiliation:
Behavioural and Community Ecology, Conservation Biology Group, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, No. 100 Daxue Road, Nanning, Guangxi 530005, People's Republic of China
Aiwu Jiang
Affiliation:
Behavioural and Community Ecology, Conservation Biology Group, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, No. 100 Daxue Road, Nanning, Guangxi 530005, People's Republic of China
Eben Goodale
Affiliation:
Behavioural and Community Ecology, Conservation Biology Group, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, No. 100 Daxue Road, Nanning, Guangxi 530005, People's Republic of China
*
1Corresponding author. Email: emipanu@outlook.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

Some animal species are found in many environments and over wide distributions and may have adaptations to live in such different areas. The barn swallow Hirundo rustica is an example of a species that is able to thrive over a large geographic range and in many different environments. However, little is known of the breeding biology of this species in southern China. Here, we studied 18 breeding pairs of barn swallow H. r. gutturalis in Nanning, Guangxi, between April and July 2015. We studied its breeding fitness and parental investment. We found that tropical barn swallows bred from early April to early July and had from two to five fledglings per brood. We also recorded a strong seasonal decrease of breeding success and nestling condition that has also been found in temperate regions. Nevertheless, nestlings showed relatively long wings and low body masses, which may have enabled three sets of parents to raise three broods per breeding season, more than in other Chinese populations. Generally, barn swallows breeding in the tropics showed a similar ecology to their conspecifics from temperate regions, probably due to the species’ niche specificity in urban settings. Morphological differences detected in this study require further research based on larger sample sizes and on more detailed data from different climatic regions of Asia.

Keywords

Chinacomparative studyHirundinidaeSouth-East Asiatropical ecologyurban ecology
Type
Short Communication
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 32 , Issue 3 , May 2016 , pp. 260 - 263
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

AMBROSINI, R., FERRARI, R. P., MARTINELLI, R., ROMANO, M. & SAINO, N. 2006. Seasonal, meteorological, and microhabitat effects on breeding success and offspring phenotype in the barn swallow, Hirundo rustica. Ecoscience 13:298–307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ARAI, E., HASEGAWA, M., NAKAMURA, M. & WAKAMATSU, K. 2015. Male pheomelanin pigmentation and breeding onset in Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica gutturalis. Journal of Ornithology 156:419–427.Google Scholar
ASHTON, K. G. 2002. Patterns of within-species body size variation of birds: strong evidence for Bergmann's rule. Global Ecology and Biogeography 11:505–523.Google Scholar
AYALA, R. M. D., MARTINELLI, R. & SAINO, N. 2006. Vitamin E supplementation enhances growth and condition of nestling barn swallows (Hirundo rustica). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 60:619–630.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DOR, R., SAFRAN, R. J., SHELDON, F. H., WINKLER, D. W. & LOVETTE, I. J. 2010. Phylogeny of the genus Hirundo and the Barn Swallow subspecies complex. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 56:409–418.Google Scholar
DU, H. 1958. The Barn Swallow. Ecology Bulletin 4:27. [In Chinese]Google Scholar
FUTUYMA, D. J. & MORENO, G. 1988. The evolution of ecological specialization. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 19:207–233.Google Scholar
HAHN, S., KORNER-NIEVERGELT, F., EMMENEGGER, T., AMRHEIN, V., CSÖRG, T., GURSOY, A., ILIEVA, M., KVEREK, P., PÉREZ-TRIS, J., PIRRELLO, S., ZEHTINDJIEV, P. & SALEWSKI, V. 2015. Longer wings for faster springs – wing length relates to spring phenology in a long-distance migrant across its range. Ecology and Evolution. doi:10.1002/ece3.1862.Google Scholar
HASEGAWA, M., ARAI, E., WATANABE, M. & NAKAMURA, M. 2010. Mating advantage of multiple male ornaments in the Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica gutturalis. Ornithological Science 9:141–148.Google Scholar
MØLLER, A. P. 2009. Successful city dwellers: a comparative study of the ecological characteristics of urban birds in the Western Palearctic. Oecologia 159:849–858.Google Scholar
RODRÍGUEZ, M. A., OLALLA-TÁRRAGA, M. A. & HAWKINS, B. A. 2008. Bergmann's rule and the geography of mammal body size in the western hemisphere. Global Ecology and Biogeography 17:274–283.Google Scholar
STUTCHBURY, B. J. & MORTON, E. S. 2001. Behavioral ecology of tropical birds. Academic Press, London. 156 pp.Google Scholar
SVENSSON, L. 1992. Identification guide to European passerines. Svensson L, Stockholm. 368 pp.Google Scholar
TIAN, L., ZHOU, C., YI, H. & HU, J. 2005. Breeding ecology, growth and development of Hirundo rustica. Chinese Journal of Ecology 3:86–89. [In Chinese with English abstract]Google Scholar
WANG, X. 1959. Preliminary studies on the life history of the House Swallow. Acta Zoologica Sinica 2:138–144. [In Chinese with English abstract]Google Scholar
WANG, C. & ZHAO, M. 2010. Observations of the breeding ecology of the Barn Swallow in Lingqiu county. Shanxi Forestry 1:29–30. [In Chinese]Google Scholar
YU, H., ZHANG, J. & LIU, Y. 2007. Research on the biological character comparison of sparrows and swallows in Harbin. Natural Sciences Journal of Harbin Normal University 1:105–108. [In Chinese with English abstract]Google Scholar
ZHANG, Y., GAO, D. & ZHANG, S. 1988. Swallow banding and observation of its breeding habits. Forestry Science and Technology of Shandong Province 1:43–45. [In Chinese]Google Scholar
ZHAO, Z. 1982. Ecological studies of the House Swallow in Changbai Shan area, Jilin province. Zoological Research S2:299–303. [In Chinese with English abstract]Google Scholar
ZHOU, C. & LI, X. 1959. Preliminary observation of the ecology of two swallows in Changchun. Journal of Jinlin Normal University 1:126–136. [In Chinese]Google Scholar