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Local weather conditions have complex effects on the growth of blue tit nestlings

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Local weather conditions have complex effects on the growth of blue tit nestlings. / Mainwaring, Mark Charles; Hartley, Ian Russell.
In: Journal of Thermal Biology, Vol. 60, 01.08.2016, p. 12-19.

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Mainwaring MC, Hartley IR. Local weather conditions have complex effects on the growth of blue tit nestlings. Journal of Thermal Biology. 2016 Aug 1;60:12-19. Epub 2016 May 24. doi: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2016.05.005

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@article{667eee7097ce4d2a9cf11bc171de29af,
title = "Local weather conditions have complex effects on the growth of blue tit nestlings",
abstract = "Adverse weather conditions are expected to result in impaired nestling development in birds, but empirical studies have provided equivocal support for such a relationship. This may be because the negative effects of adverse weather conditions are masked by parental effects. Globally, ambient temperatures, rainfall levels and wind speeds are all expected to increase in a changing climate and so there is a need for a better understanding of the relationship between weather conditions and nestling growth. Here, we describe a correlative study that examined the relationships between local temperatures, rainfall levels and wind speeds and the growth of individual blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) nestlings in relation to their hatching order and sex. We found that changes in a range of morphological characters were negatively related to both temperature and wind speed, but positively related to rainfall. These patterns were further influenced by the hatching order of the nestlings but not by nestling sex. This suggests that the predicted changes in local weather conditions may have complex effects on nestling growth, but that parents may be able to mitigate the adverse effects via adaptive parental effects. We therefore conclude that local weather conditions have complex effects on avian growth and the implications for patterns of avian growth in a changing climate are discussed.",
keywords = "Blue tit, Development, Maternal effects, Rainfall, Temperature, Weather, Wind speed",
author = "Mainwaring, {Mark Charles} and Hartley, {Ian Russell}",
year = "2016",
month = aug,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1016/j.jtherbio.2016.05.005",
language = "English",
volume = "60",
pages = "12--19",
journal = "Journal of Thermal Biology",
issn = "0306-4565",
publisher = "Elsevier Limited",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Local weather conditions have complex effects on the growth of blue tit nestlings

AU - Mainwaring, Mark Charles

AU - Hartley, Ian Russell

PY - 2016/8/1

Y1 - 2016/8/1

N2 - Adverse weather conditions are expected to result in impaired nestling development in birds, but empirical studies have provided equivocal support for such a relationship. This may be because the negative effects of adverse weather conditions are masked by parental effects. Globally, ambient temperatures, rainfall levels and wind speeds are all expected to increase in a changing climate and so there is a need for a better understanding of the relationship between weather conditions and nestling growth. Here, we describe a correlative study that examined the relationships between local temperatures, rainfall levels and wind speeds and the growth of individual blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) nestlings in relation to their hatching order and sex. We found that changes in a range of morphological characters were negatively related to both temperature and wind speed, but positively related to rainfall. These patterns were further influenced by the hatching order of the nestlings but not by nestling sex. This suggests that the predicted changes in local weather conditions may have complex effects on nestling growth, but that parents may be able to mitigate the adverse effects via adaptive parental effects. We therefore conclude that local weather conditions have complex effects on avian growth and the implications for patterns of avian growth in a changing climate are discussed.

AB - Adverse weather conditions are expected to result in impaired nestling development in birds, but empirical studies have provided equivocal support for such a relationship. This may be because the negative effects of adverse weather conditions are masked by parental effects. Globally, ambient temperatures, rainfall levels and wind speeds are all expected to increase in a changing climate and so there is a need for a better understanding of the relationship between weather conditions and nestling growth. Here, we describe a correlative study that examined the relationships between local temperatures, rainfall levels and wind speeds and the growth of individual blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) nestlings in relation to their hatching order and sex. We found that changes in a range of morphological characters were negatively related to both temperature and wind speed, but positively related to rainfall. These patterns were further influenced by the hatching order of the nestlings but not by nestling sex. This suggests that the predicted changes in local weather conditions may have complex effects on nestling growth, but that parents may be able to mitigate the adverse effects via adaptive parental effects. We therefore conclude that local weather conditions have complex effects on avian growth and the implications for patterns of avian growth in a changing climate are discussed.

KW - Blue tit

KW - Development

KW - Maternal effects

KW - Rainfall

KW - Temperature

KW - Weather

KW - Wind speed

U2 - 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2016.05.005

DO - 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2016.05.005

M3 - Journal article

VL - 60

SP - 12

EP - 19

JO - Journal of Thermal Biology

JF - Journal of Thermal Biology

SN - 0306-4565

ER -