DOI: 10.5061/dryad.pvmcvdngh
title: Data from: Reproductive success and health of breeding Bank Swallows (<em>Riparia riparia</em>) in aggregate (sand and gravel) pit and natural lakeshore habitats

description: Bank Swallows (Riparia riparia) are designated as Threatened in Canada, in
 part due to loss of natural breeding habitat along lakeshores and rivers.
 Excavation in sand and gravel pits (aka, aggregate pits) has increased
 availability of potential nesting habitat away from lakes and rivers, and
 these substitute habitats may be important to stabilize the decline
 experienced by some Bank Swallow populations. Over two years, we collected
 data on Bank Swallow reproductive success from two natural lakeshore
 habitat sites along bluffs of the north shore of Lake Ontario and seven
 aggregate pits in southern Ontario, within 100 km of the lakeshore. Nests
 at the lakeshore habitat were initiated earlier than in aggregate pits,
 eight days earlier in 2014 and thirteen days earlier in 2015. Neither
 clutch size nor number of nestlings differed between the two habitat
 types. There were differences in the number of fledglings produced between
 the habitat types, with Bank Swallows nesting in aggregate pits raising
 more fledglings per successful nest. However, birds nesting in aggregate
 pits also had significantly more nests that raised no fledglings, even
 though eggs in those nests hatched. Breeding adults from aggregate pits
 were initially heavier than those from the lakeshore habitat, but their
 mass decreased significantly over the nesting season. Fledgling masses
 were not significantly different between habitat types. Parasite loads on
 fledgling Bank Swallows from aggregate pits were significantly lower than
 on fledglings from the lakeshore. These indicators suggest that aggregate
 pits can provide at least equivalent habitat for Bank Swallows to that
 provided by natural lakeshore habitat, making them potentially key for the
 recovery of this species in Ontario.
description: # Data from: Reproductive success and health of breeding Bank Swallows
 (*Riparia riparia*) in aggregate (sand and gravel) pit and natural
 lakeshore habitats Dataset DOI:
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.pvmcvdngh](https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.pvmcvdngh) ## Description of the data and file structure The primary objective of this study was to compare Bank Swallow reproductive success and the general health of both breeding and fledgling Bank Swallows in aggregate pits and natural lakeshore habitat. We conducted surveys at two lakeshore colonies and seven aggregate pit colonies where Bank Swallows were banded, and health measures were taken. Nest Survival and Reproductive Success: Active nests were then checked every three days to determine whether eggs hatched and hatchlings fledged. We recorded clutch size, hatching success (whether at least one egg hatched, and the number of nestlings hatched), and fledging success (whether at least one young fledged and total number of fledglings). For further details on the methods, please refer to the associated publication. Mass and Ectoparasites: We banded each captured bird with a Canadian Wildlife Service aluminum band, recorded natural wing chord from bird wrist to end of primary feathers, recorded mass (nearest 0.1 g), and sexed. In 2015, visible ectoparasites were counted by one observer on the individual’s right wing and opportunistically as we handled the bird. Feather mites were individually counted on the right wing’s third primary feather. For further details on the methods, please refer to the published study. Note: "NA" cells refer to unavailable data. ### Files and variables #### File: BANSHealth_adults.csv **Description:** Data set of health data collected for adult bank swallows in lakeshores and aggregate pits. Each column has a different variable collected from each individual bank swallow (as a row). ##### Variables * SiteType: Pit or Lakeshore colony * Site: Specific site name within a site type * Colony: Specific colony of BANS within a site * BandNumber: Canadian Wildlife Service aluminum band number * Age: Adult or juvenile bird (always adult) * Sex: Male, Female, or unknown * Mass_adult: weight (g) * WingChord_adult: length (mm) * FatScore_adult: Fat scores of adults based on traditional banding practices, scores range from 0 (no fat) to 7. * TotalParasiteSpecies_adult: Number of parasite species visually seen during body scan. * TotalFeatherMites_adult: Feather mites (#) present on the right wing’s third primary feather * TotalMites_adult: Number of body mites seen visually seen during body scan. * TotalLice_adult: Number of lice seen visually seen during body scan. * TotalFleas_adult Pit: Number of fleas seen visually seen during body scan. #### File: BANSHealth_young.csv **Description:** Data set of health data collected for juvenile bank swallows in lakeshores and aggregate pits. Each column has a different variable collected from each individual bank swallow (as a row). ##### Variables * SiteType: Pit or Lakeshore colony * Site: Specific site name within a site type * Colony: Specific colony of BANS within a site * BandNumber: Canadian Wildlife Service aluminum band number * Age: Adult or juvenile bird (always juvenile) * Sex: Male, Female, or unknown (always unknown for this dataset) * Mass_young: weight (g) * WingChord_young: length (mm) * FatScore_young: Fat scores of juveniles based on traditional banding practices, scores range from 0 (no fat) to 7. * TotalParasiteSpecies_young: Number of parasite species visually seen during body scan. * TotalFeatherMites_young: Feather mites (#) present on the right wing’s third primary feather * TotalMites_young: Number of mites visually seen during body scan. * TotalLice_young: Number of lice visually seen during body scan. * TotalFleas_young Pit: Number of fleas visually seen during body scan. #### File: OverallBurrows_forR.csv **Description:** Dataset for nest survival and reproductive success of aggregate pit and lakeshore bank swallows. Each column has a different variable collected from each burrow (as a row). ##### Variables * SiteType: Pit or Lakeshore colony * Site: Specific site name within a site type * Colony: Specific colony of BANS within a site * DayofEggLay: Date of when the first egg was laid in the nesting season (beginning May 31st = 1).  * Year: Year of data collected * BurrowNum: Individual burrow ID number * ClutchSize: Number of eggs in nest clutch * NumHatch: Number of eggs that hatched into young * NumFledge: Number of young that successfully fledged the nest * BurrowLength: length of burrow (cm, rounded to nearest 10cm) * BinaryFledge: 0 = No young fledged nest, 1 = at least 1 young fledged nest * BinaryHatch Lake: 0 = No eggs hatched in nest, 1 = at least 1 egg hatched in nest ## Code/software We used RStudio for data analysis.