Recapture probability, flight morphology, and microorganisms

Microorganisms on and within organisms are ubiquitous and interactions with their hosts range from mutualistic over commensal, to pathogenic. We hypothesized that microorganisms might affect the ability of barn swallows Hirundo rustica to escape from potential predators, with positive associations between the abundance of microorganisms and escape ability implying mutualistic effects, while negative associations would imply antagonistic effects. We quantified escape behavior as the ability to avoid capture in a mist net and hence as a small number of recaptures. Because recapture probability may also depend on timing of reproduction and reproductive success, we also tested whether the association between recapture and microorganisms was mediated by an association between recapture and life history. We found intermediate to strong positive relationships between recapture probability and abundance of Bacillus megaterium, but not abundance of other bacteria or fungi. The abundance of B. megaterium was associated with an advance in laying date and an increase in reproductive success. However, these effects were independent of the number of recaptures. This interpretation is supported by the fact that there was no direct correlation between laying date and reproductive success on one hand and the number of recaptures on the other. These findings have implications not only for predator-prey interactions, but also for capture-mark-recapture analyses of vital rates such as survival and dispersal.