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Nature and nurture: the influence of environmental conditions and parental care on avian offspring development

Sudnick, Madeline Cassidy
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8390-8230
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouhonors1619025814154044

Abstract Details

2021, Bachelor of Science (BS), Ohio University, Biological Sciences.
1. Offspring growth, and condition are positively correlated with fledging success, recruitment, adult aerobic capacity, and flight performance, and are affected by environmental conditions and parental care behavior. If offspring face tradeoffs between growth and condition when adverse environmental conditions such as low food availability and presence of parasites, physiological processes including activation of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis can prioritize allocation of resources toward survival at a cost to growth or condition. However, parents may alter behaviors to mitigate the impacts of poor environmental conditions on their young. 2. We monitored 69 active Eastern Bluebird nests over two years in Athens County, Ohio to determine how environmental conditions including food availability and parasites influence parental care behaviors and nestling condition. We used general linear mixed models to investigate direct effects of environmental conditions and parental care on offspring physiology, growth and hematocrit. We also used piecewise structural equation modeling (SEM) to evaluate the direct effects of the environment on offspring and indirect effects of the environment on offspring via parental care behaviors. 3. None of the environmental conditions or parental care variables we measured were correlated to nestling corticosterone levels. 4. Our piecewise SEM indicated that parents had greater provisioning and nest attendance in habitats with greater arthropod biomass and larger amounts of small prey items but did not alter behavior in response to parasitism by blow flies. While parents altered provisioning rate and nest attendance in response to the environment, parental care behaviors were not correlated with offspring condition, thus behavioral responses did not override the direct effects of environmental conditions on offspring growth and hematocrit. 5. Our work highlights the importance of the environment on offspring development. We found that parent birds altered behavior in response to variation in their habitats but were unable to mitigate the impacts of poor environmental conditions, passing consequences of low resource availability onto offspring. Our results suggest parents may not be able to sufficiently alter behavior to ameliorate challenging environmental conditions.
Kelly Williams (Advisor)
Soichi Tanda (Other)
138 p.
Biology; Ecology; Wildlife Conservation
offspring development, parental behaviors, hematocrit, Eastern bluebird, growth rate, food availability, structural equation modeling, ectoparasites, corticosterone

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Sudnick, M. C. (2021). Nature and nurture: the influence of environmental conditions and parental care on avian offspring development [Undergraduate thesis, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouhonors1619025814154044

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Sudnick, Madeline. Nature and nurture: the influence of environmental conditions and parental care on avian offspring development. 2021. Ohio University, Undergraduate thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouhonors1619025814154044.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Sudnick, Madeline. "Nature and nurture: the influence of environmental conditions and parental care on avian offspring development." Undergraduate thesis, Ohio University, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouhonors1619025814154044

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ouhonors1619025814154044
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This open access ETD is published by Ohio University Honors Tutorial College and OhioLINK.