Skip to search formSkip to main contentSkip to account menu

Stressed mothers lay eggs with high corticosterone levels which produce low-quality offspring.

Maternal stress impaired offspring phenotype and viability by increasing transmission of glucocorticosteroids to the eggs, and a novel mechanism mediating early maternal effects whereby maternal stress affects offspring quality is identified.
View on PubMed (opens in a new tab)

Carotenoid-dependent signals: indicators of foraging efficiency, immunocompetence or detoxification ability?

Immunocompetence of nestling barn swallows in relation to brood size and parental effort

It is concluded that T-lymphocyte cell-mediated immune response as well as body mass is influenced by the level of parental investment and brood size, perhaps via its effect on competition for food.
View via Publisher (opens in a new tab)

Immunocompetence, ornamentation, and viability of male barn swallows (Hirundo rustica).

The results of this study are the first to demonstrate that immunocompetence can predict long-term survival in a free-ranging vertebrate and are compatible with current models of parasite-mediated sexual selection.
View on PubMed (opens in a new tab)

Habitat structure and the evolution of bird song: a meta-analysis of the evidence for the acoustic adaptation hypothesis

The meta-analysis supports the acoustic adaptation hypothesis, but habitat structure only weakly predicts the acoustical properties of bird songs, and other potentially relevant factors should be included in realistic models of the evolution of bird song acoustics.
View via Publisher (opens in a new tab)

Effects of elevated egg corticosterone levels on behavior, growth, and immunity of yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) chicks

View on Elsevier (opens in a new tab)

Challenging claims in the study of migratory birds and climate change

A proper integration across biological disciplines seems essential for the field's transition from affirming patterns to understanding mechanisms and making robust predictions regarding future consequences of shifting phenologies.
View on Wiley (opens in a new tab)

Song correlates with social context, testosterone and body condition in male barn swallows

Relationships between song structure and social context suggest that some features, such as the rattle, might have originally evolved to serve in male-male interactions; a female preference may have further promoted song evolution leading to complex syllable repertoires.
View on Elsevier (opens in a new tab)

AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF PATERNITY AND TAIL ORNAMENTATION IN THE BARN SWALLOW (HIRUNDO RUSTICA)

There is a causal, positive relationship between male tail length and paternity and this study shows that female choice is a component of selection for larger male ornaments.
View on Wiley (opens in a new tab)

Better red than dead: carotenoid-based mouth coloration reveals infection in barn swallow nestlings

It is demonstrated that the gape colour of nestlings challenged with a novel antigen and provided with the principal circulating carotenoid (lutein) have more brightly coloured red gapes than their challenged but unsupplemented siblings and this suggests that parents may favour nestlings with superior health by preferentially feeding offspring with the brightest gapes.
View on Royal Society (opens in a new tab)
...
By clicking accept or continuing to use the site, you agree to the terms outlined in our Privacy Policy (opens in a new tab), Terms of Service (opens in a new tab), and Dataset License (opens in a new tab)