The UTC Graduate School is pleased to announce that Caleb Gruber will present Master’s research titled, Weather and its Effects on Tree Swallow Fledging Times on 03/03/2023 at 11:00 AM in University Center, Ocoee Room. Everyone is invited to attend.
Environmental Science
Chair: David Aborn
Co-Chair:
Abstract:
Weather effects such as temperature and rainfall are known to have a role in reproductive success of many avian species. These weather impacts can directly or indirectly influence the fledging success of nestlings. In this study, the effect of minimum temperature, maximum temperature, average temperature, maximum rainfall, and total rainfall on how long it takes Tree Swallow in Tennessee to fledge was assessed using linear regression, multi-linear regression, and linear mixed-effects modeling using the base stats and lme4 packages for R studio. A random effect of the year an observation occurred is considered in the linear mixed-effects models. I found that minimum temperatures, maximum temperatures, maximum rain experienced in a one-day period, and total rain all had a significant relationship on the time it takes for Tree Swallow chicks to fledge. Furthermore, the random effect considered in this study were not a part of the best models assessed through AIC rankings.