Breeding biology of Tree Swallows and House Wrens in a gradient of gamma radiation
In a gradient of gamma radiation from 38.7 mC kg/sup -1/.d/sup -1/ to background levels of 0.05 ..mu..C. kg/sup -1/ . d/sup -1/ to background levels of 0.05 ..mu..C . kg/sup -1/ . d/sup -1/, Tree Swallows (Iridoprocne bicolor) and House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon) avoided nesting in areas of high radiation. Nest boxes selected by swallows and wrens had a mean exposure rate of only 9.3 and 6.6 ..mu..C . kg/sup -1/ . d/sup -1/, respectively. Lateral and canopy vegetation indices and nest hole height and direction could not explain the observed pattern of box selection. Of the boxes with low exposure rates, swallows selected those with little vegetation cover, whereas wrens chose boxes and heavy cover. It appears that the birds responded to radiation levels as low as 100 times background, but it is not clear whether they actually detected radiation or simply responded to secondary clues. The number of swallows and wrens fledged per box was unrelated to radiation exposure. The same was true for number of eggs, hatching success, fledging success, incubation time, and nestling time. Breeding success was reduced because of infertile eggs, eggs with dead embryos, cracked eggs, predation, adverse weather, abandonment, and parasites. The logistic model was ideally suited for describing gains in mass in nestling swallows and wrens. Growth of nestlings was not related to radiation exposure as indicated by the growth rate constant, asymptotic mass, and the proportion of variation explained by the logistic model. Breeding and growth performance were similar in studies not involving experimental radiation.
- Research Organization:
- Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., Pinawa, Manitoba
- OSTI ID:
- 6529919
- Journal Information:
- Ecology; (United States), Vol. 63:6
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ANIMAL BREEDING
BIOLOGICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
BEHAVIOR
BIRDS
RADIATION DOSES
EGGS
CESIUM 137
CHRONIC EXPOSURE
DOSE-RESPONSE RELATIONSHIPS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
GAMMA RADIATION
LITHIUM FLUORIDES
THERMOLUMINESCENT DOSEMETERS
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
ANIMALS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
CESIUM ISOTOPES
DATA
DOSEMETERS
DOSES
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
FLUORIDES
FLUORINE COMPOUNDS
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
INFORMATION
IONIZING RADIATIONS
ISOTOPES
LITHIUM COMPOUNDS
LITHIUM HALIDES
LUMINESCENT DOSEMETERS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
NUCLEI
NUMERICAL DATA
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIATIONS
RADIOISOTOPES
VERTEBRATES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
560152* - Radiation Effects on Animals- Animals