Morphological Predictors and Genetic Consequences of Nest Predation in the North American Barn Swallow Hirundo Rustica Erythrogaster

Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation

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Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/p2676v866

Abstract

Nest predation is the primary cause of reproductive failure in most bird species, and is a powerful source of natural selection. As nest predation is strongly tied to an individual's reproductive performance, the ways in which parents respond to predation risk is likely shaped by natural selection. In particular, species that engage in multiple breeding attempts in a given season are able to modify their breeding strategies through extra-pair mating which might be influenced by predation events. I examined relationships between parental morphological variation, extra-pair mating, and nest predation in the North American barn swallow in order to examine morphological predictors and genetic consequences associated with nest predation in the wild. The findings of this study suggest that parental morphology may play a significant role in nest predation risk and that females may alter the paternity of her offspring after a predation event based on features of her mate's morphology.

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