Passer Domesticus Research Articles

Activation of the sympathetic-adrenal-medullary system increases DNA damage during the transition to captivity

Abstract Prior work has demonstrated that both acute and chronic stress can increase the number of double-stranded breaks detected in DNA and that the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is the primary driver of increases in DNA damage during acute stress. However, the role of the sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM) system in causing the increase in DNA damage observed during chronically stressful situations such as the transition to captivity is less well understood. We tested the hypothesis that chronic SAM activation via catecholamine release increases DNA damage by administering a beta-blocker to wild house sparrows (Passer domesticus) at capture and throughout the day during the first few days of captivity. We quantified double-stranded DNA breaks throughout the two-week transition to captivity. We found that immediately following the treatment period, both control and beta-blocker-treated birds had similar levels of DNA damage, but after two weeks in captivity, treated birds had lower levels of damage. These data suggest that SAM system activation plays a role in creating the previously observed patterns of DNA damage during chronic stress and that suppressing SAM effects may lead to faster recovery and less damage overall, thereby easing the transition to captivity for wild animals.

Noise Pollution and Urban Birds Breeding in the Center of the Iberian Peninsula: Effects on Diversity and Abundance

In an increasingly urbanized world, biodiversity, and more specifically, birdlife located in urbanized ecosystems, faces several threats. Among these, noise pollution has proven to be one of the most significant, as it affects the effectiveness and efficiency of acoustic communication. We studied the relationship between noise and the diversity and abundance of birds breeding in urban areas in the central region of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain). We analyzed how species diversity and density varied across three levels of noise pollution (high, medium, and low). Species diversity decreased in areas with high noise pollution as compared to sites with medium and low levels of noise. We analyzed the density of the most frequent species found within each category. We identified eight additional noise-tolerant species whose density had significantly increased in environments with high levels of noise (e.g., Blackbird, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, and the Coal Tit). The ten most sensitive species, such as the Common Linnet, House Sparrow, and the European Greenfinch, had significantly decreased densities when the level of noise increased. Identifying the sensitivity (the effect) of urban bird species to acoustic pollution is vital for effective conservation management measures and for the sustainable planning and management of cities.

When urban exploiters cannot cope with urban stressors anymore: Lessons from an experimental manipulation of developmental corticosterone levels in the house sparrow (Passer domesticus).

When urban exploiters cannot cope with urban stressors anymore: Lessons from an experimental manipulation of developmental corticosterone levels in the house sparrow (Passer domesticus).

Faunal Diversity in Nhavare and Surrounding Villages of Shirur Tehsil, M/S, India

Abstract: Nhavare village in Shirur tehsil of Pune district, Maharashtra, India, is known to its rich faunal assemblage. Biodiversity was surveyed during the rainy season in Nhavare using a standardized walking survey technique. The photographed animals were identified with taxonomic keys. There were 24 species that were observed, out of which six species belonging to the Phylum Arthropoda while 18 species belong to the Phylum Chordata. Six resident birs species were found namely: Corvus splendens, Corvus culminates, Passer domesticus, Ardeola grayii, Milvus lineatus, Dicrurus macrocercus. The ecological importance of Nhavare as an essential habitat for bird and other faunal diversity. Also diverse species of insects, arachnids, and reptiles to birds and mammals were identified such as Apis dorsata, Ptyas mucosa, and Milvus lineatus signifies the ecological diversity of the area. The research also emphasizes the contribution of agriculture to local biodiversity. The record of faunal diversity in Nhavare provides a baseline for future ecological monitoring and conservation management planning. The knowledge of species composition and spatial distribution can inform biodiversity conservation and management strategies. This work highlights the importance of ongoing monitoring of biodiversity, especially in rural environments that are increasingly subject to anthropogenic pressures. It is recommended to carry out further long-term studies in different seasons to compare fluctuations in species abundance and habitat choice.

Metapopulation-level analyses reveal positive fitness consequences of immigration in a small bird.

Dispersal links eco-evolutionary dynamics of subpopulations in fragmented landscapes and may play a crucial role in the viability of populations by increasing individual fitness and subpopulation growth rates. However, knowledge of individual fitness of immigrants and residents and their offspring at the local and metapopulation levels is often lacking due to the difficulty of quantifying fitness in geographically structured wild populations, which requires extensive field efforts. A comprehensive dataset that includes more than 15 years of individual capture-mark-recapture information and a high-resolution SNP-based pedigree from an insular wild house sparrow (Passer domesticus) metapopulation, was used to examine the fitness consequences of successful immigration for parent and offspring generations, and assess the relative contributions of immigrants and residents to the local pool of recruits versus individuals that recruited in other populations within the metapopulation. We show that immigrants produced more recruiting offspring annually and during their lifetime than residents. Moreover, we found that hybrid recruits (produced by immigrant-resident parents) had higher adult survival and produced more recruiting offspring during their lifetime than recruits produced by two resident or two immigrant parents. Additionally, although contributions to the local pool of recruits did not differ between immigrant and resident parents during their lifetime, immigrant parents produced more offspring that recruited in other populations than resident parents. Our results indicate that the benefits of being an immigrant last at least through the first offspring generation. Such positive fitness effects of immigrants may improve local population viability as well as metapopulation viability. Our study shows the importance of quantifying fitness of successful immigrants at a wide geographic scale in structured populations, because it may be difficult to a priori predict whether dispersers and residents contribute similarly or differently to the dynamics at local population and metapopulation levels.

Birds dominate the diet of Barn Owls, Tyto alba, in eastern Saudi Arabia

While the Barn Owl, Tyto alba, is known as an opportunistic feeder, small mammals are the main diet across its Palaearctic range. In a study on the food of the Barn Owl in the coastal area of Al Qatif, Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, we examined 434 intact and 80 fragmented pellets. Birds were represented in four species and constituted the highest percentages both in term of numbers (81.7%) and biomass (75.5%), whereas the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) was the most common consumed prey (38.5%). Commensal rodents (Rattus rattus and Mus musculus) and the Asian House Shrew (Suncus murinus) were less common and accounted for 18.3% of prey items. Suncus murinus was recorded for the first time from eastern Saudi Arabia. It is discussed whether the preference for birds may be linked to factors such as availability of preys, habitat type and agriculture expansion.

Alien Birds in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Overview

Introduced species may pose one of the biggest threats to biodiversity conservation. Today, monitoring their status, distribution and abundance constitutes an important part of ecological and conservation studies throughout the world. In the Afrotropical Region (sub-Saharan Africa), avian introductions have attracted the attention of many researchers, but there is a lack of a comprehensive review of this subject on a continental scale. The presented paper constitutes an attempt to overview the status, distribution, threats and control measures of birds introduced to sub-Saharan Africa in the last 200 years. This review lists 146 bird species introduced to sub-Saharan Africa. Only 49 (33.6%) of them have developed viable populations and only 7 (4.8%) became invasive species, namely Passer domesticus, Sturnus vulgaris, Acridotheres tristis, Corvus splendens, Columba livia var. domestica, Psittacula krameri and Pycnonotus jocosus. Data on distribution of most introduced species are provided, together with information on the place and year of their first introductions. For Passer domesticus and Columba livia var. domestica, data on population densities are also provided from several southern African towns. The most speciose groups of introduced species were parrots (Psittaciformes), comprising 33.6% (including Psittacidae: 13.7%; and Psittaculidae: 15.1%); Anatidae: 12.3%; Phasianidae: 11.0%; and Passeriformes: 30.1%. Most avian introductions in sub-Saharan Africa took place in Southern Africa (mainly the Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg areas) and in Madagascar and the surrounding islands (mostly Mauritius, Reunion and Seychelles). Most introduced species which have developed viable populations originate from the Afrotropical, Oriental and Palearctic regions (altogether 78%), with only 2% from the New World. The proportions among the introduced species which have not established viable populations are quite different: 29% from the New World and only 60% from the Afrotropical, Oriental and Palearctic regions. The main factors affecting successful avian introductions and introduction pathways have been identified. A review of the control measures undertaken in sub-Saharan Africa (mainly in small oceanic islands) is outlined for the following species: Passer domesticus, Acridotheres tristis, Corvus splendens, Pycnonotus jocosus, Foudia madagascariensis, Psittacula krameri and Agapornis roseicollis.

Physiological responses of wild birds to artificial grass during introduction to laboratory housing.

Introduction of wild animals to captivity induces chronic stress often leading to weight loss, increases in baseline corticosterone, and increased DNA damage. To mitigate these effects, providing enrichment to the captive environment has been proposed. Yet, studies investigating the physiological effects of captive environment enrichments are rare in wild birds. Here, we test the potential of a single enrichment factor by monitoring weight, baseline corticosterone, and DNA damage in two groups of house sparrows (Passer domesticus) during introduction to captivity: (1) birds in standard laboratory cages with food dishes and (2) birds in cages where food is spread across artificial grass to simulate a more natural foraging environment. After 3 weeks, all birds switched environments for 3 additional weeks. Weight was monitored bi-weekly while baseline corticosterone and DNA damage were measured weekly. Initially, both groups lost significant weight and weight plateaued by about 2 weeks of captivity. However, after switching housing environments, only initially grass-caged birds continued to lose weight. After one week of captivity, grass-caged birds had lower DNA damage compared to standard-caged birds. Over time, standard-caged birds remained unchanged and initially grass-caged birds increased damage after switching housing environments. There were no significant differences in baseline corticosterone across groups or over time. Our findings provide limited support for artificial grass as a substantial enrichment in mitigating the physiological consequences associated with introduction to captivity. Furthermore, given the challenges to husbandry of using artificial grass, the data are insufficiently strong to recommend the use of artificial grass as a stress-reducing enrichment to laboratory housing.

Urban form shapes bird niches: insights from the European green capital 2024

This study underscores the critical importance of integrating biodiversity considerations into urban planning, demonstrating how diverse urban structures can support bird populations while contributing to the resilience of urban ecosystems. The research investigates whether significant differences exist among urban configurations in terms of species richness and individual abundance. The proposed urban configurations—historic centres, open blocks, and closed blocks—were examined in Valencia, Spain. Urban composition data were obtained from open-access platforms, and bird information was sourced from the SACRE citizen science program. Data were organized hierarchically and analyzed using Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMMs), complemented by the AIC criterion and QQ plot residuals. The study recorded 23 bird species, with the lowest richness observed in historic centres (13 species). Significant ecological differences were found among birds that feed in the air, in trees and shrubs, and those that nest in buildings. The findings highlight the ecological value of historic buildings, which offer critical nesting opportunities. Among the three urban habitat types, the most common species were the common swift (Apus apus), rock pigeon (Columba livia), house sparrow (Passer domesticus), and Eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto). Additionally, this research discusses the decline of European swift populations and house sparrow, linking it to modern building practices that reduce nesting sites. By emphasizing the ecological consequences of urban development and the need for biodiversity-friendly measures, this study contributes to understanding how urban planning can promote conservation and mitigate biodiversity loss in rapidly changing urban landscapes.

Evaluating Bird Species Acceptance of Naturally Constructed Artificial Nests: A Study from Kalahandi, India

Nests play a crucial role in the bird life cycle by providing a safe space for egg-laying, incubation, and chick-rearing, protecting them from predators and harsh environmental conditions. However, habitat destruction due to deforestation, urbanization, and agricultural expansion is making it increasingly difficult for many bird species to find suitable nesting sites. This study seeks to explore avian preferences for artificial nests constructed from diverse natural materials and assess their efficacy in offering appropriate nesting locations. A total of 118 artificial nests were constructed utilizing different types of locally available materials. The design of these nests emulates natural habitats. Observations indicated that various bird species displayed distinct preferences influenced by factors such as nest size, material, and placement. Some species, including the Red Munia, Greater Coucal, House Sparrow, and Indian Robin, have shown a remarkable ability to adapt to artificial nests, whereas others still depend on natural nesting sites. The investigation emphasises the promise of artificial nests in aiding bird populations, particularly in regions experiencing habitat degradation. Additional investigation is essential to enhance nest designs and guarantee their successful application in avian conservation initiatives.

Zinc bioaccumulation in house sparrows (Passer domesticus) across urban and rural areas of Meknes, Morocco: a bioindicator of environmental pollution.

This study investigates zinc (Zn) bioaccumulation in house sparrows (Passer domesticus) across urban and rural areas of Meknes, Morocco, to evaluate their effectiveness as bioindicators of environmental pollution. Fifty sparrows were sampled from five locations: an industrial zone, town center, bus station, main road, and a rural reference site. Zinc concentrations, measured on a dry weight basis using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), revealed significant differences between sites for the liver (111.43 ± 4.25 µg/g), kidneys (56.68 ± 3.50 µg/g), blood (1.638 ± 0.652 µg/g), bones (21.36 ± 6.10 µg/g), and heart (16.87 ± 5.15 µg/g) at the most polluted site, Sidi Bouzekri industrial zone, according to ANOVA results (p < 0.05). No significant differences were found for feathers (9.85 ± 4.65 µg/g), lungs (12.02 ± 4.58 µg/g), and brain (9.49 ± 6.23 µg/g) across the study locations. The rural site, despite its distance from industrial sources, exhibited elevated zinc levels, likely due to agricultural activities. These findings highlight the effectiveness of house sparrows as bioindicators for monitoring zinc contamination, capturing pollution impacts from both urban and rural sources. Ongoing monitoring of zinc pollution in diverse environments remains essential for managing heavy metal exposure risks.

Birds of Te Araroa Trail – Aotearoa New Zealand’s long pathway

Te Araroa Trail runs for more than 3,200 km between Cape Reinga and Bluff, along the length of Aotearoa New Zealand’s two main islands. All birds seen and heard along the trail during the austral summer were counted in 1,720 contiguous transects during 124 days of walking from north to south between 2 November 2023 and 11 March 2024 (84.7% of transects were 2 km long). A total of 106,207 birds of 107 species were counted during daylight transects, at a mean encounter rate of 32.6 individuals per km. The highest counts were for house sparrow (Passer domesticus – 12,517 birds), chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs – 5,806), and red-billed gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae – 5,427). The species recorded most frequently were chaffinch (62.3% of transects), silvereye (Zosterops lateralis – 58.5%), and Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula – 56.7%). Bird communities are summarised and compared for 19 sections covering the entirety of the trail, providing a baseline for comparisons within regions and over time. Northern and/or southern limits are presented for 30 species with restricted distributions. Comparison of counts along sections of the trail that were trapped (233 km, including 22.4% of forest) with counts from untrapped forest sections revealed that tūī (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae), kererū (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae), and New Zealand fantails (Rhipidura fuliginosa) were more abundant where predator control was undertaken. Twenty of the fantails seen in the South Island were black morph (5.6%), with the remaining 339 (94.4%) pied morph, indicating that the proportion of black morph birds has been stable over the past two decades. In addition to describing bird communities likely to be encountered on different sections of Te Araroa Trail, this account (and the dataset it is based on) provides a baseline for comparing New Zealand bird communities over time and space.

Cross-Protection between West Nile Virus and Emerging Flaviviruses in Wild Birds.

West Nile virus (WNV), St. Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV), and Usutu virus (USUV) are zoonotic flaviviruses that cause neuroinvasive disease in humans and are maintained in overlapping avian-mosquito transmission cycles. West Nile virus and SLEV cocirculate in the United States, and WNV and USUV cocirculate in Europe. Cross-reactivity of immune responses against closely related flaviviruses is well documented. In birds, prior infection with WNV provides strong protection against SLEV genotype II and V infection, which may explain the decrease in SLEV circulation in the United States after WNV emergence in 1999. However, in 2015, a new SLEV genotype (III) emerged in the United States, suggesting that WNV immunity in birds may not provide cross-protection against this SLEV genotype. Here, we tested whether prior WNV infection protects birds against infection with SLEV genotype III, as well as USUV. First, we established a house sparrow (Passer domesticus) model of infection for SLEV genotype III. We then inoculated house sparrows with WNV and, 4 weeks later, challenged WNV-immune birds with SLEV genotype III or USUV. All birds were completely protected against secondary challenge, with no viremia detected. Low levels of cross-neutralizing antibodies against SLEV and USUV were found in the blood prior to secondary challenge. However, two naturally WNV-exposed house sparrows did develop SLEV genotype III and USUV viremia after inoculation. These results indicate that experimental WNV infection may protect birds against infection with SLEV genotype III and USUV; however, additional studies to investigate the role of avian immunity in flavivirus emergence are necessary.

A glucocorticoid receptor antagonist affects corticosterone but not neophobia in wild-caught house sparrows (Passer domesticus).

Avoidance of novel stimuli (neophobia) affects how wild animals interact with their environment and may partly determine whether animals persist in human-altered landscapes. The neuroendocrine mediators of neophobia are poorly understood, although past work demonstrated that experimentally reducing circulating corticosterone in wild-caught house sparrows (Passer domesticus) decreased neophobia toward novel objects placed near the food dish. In this experiment, we directly tested the role of one of the two types of corticosterone receptors, the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), in mediating neophobia in house sparrows by administering a GR antagonist (RU486, n = 10) or a vehicle control (peanut oil, n = 10) over 5 consecutive days and measuring responses to novel objects both pre- and post-treatment. We also measured baseline and stress-induced corticosterone in all sparrows on the final day of behavior trials. To better understand the effects of RU486 on corticosterone over time, in a separate group of sparrows (n = 12) we administered RU486 or vehicle over 5 days and took multiple blood samples to assess baseline and stress-induced corticosterone. Overall, we did not detect an effect of subcutaneous RU486 injections on neophobia behavior. However, we did find that RU486 injections significantly decreased stress-induced corticosterone levels starting 1 day post-injection and baseline corticosterone levels starting 6 days post-injection, compared to vehicle-injected controls. Our results suggest that GR is not involved in mediating neophobia behavior in house sparrows.

Impact of urbanization on the house sparrow (Passer domesticus): Serum proteome and pathogen prevalence.

The house sparrow (Passer domesticus) is a globally distributed species found in rural, urban and other humanised environments. In Europe, sparrow populations have significantly declined in recent decades, especially in urbanised areas. In the present study, we analysed the impact of urbanization on sparrow body condition, pathogen prevalence, and serum proteome changes. Sparrows were captured in four locations with two different urbanization status (rural/urban). Biometric data, blood samples and oral and cloacal swabs were collected. Rural sparrows exhibited significantly better body condition compared to urban sparrows, with no notable differences between sexes. Haemoparasite prevalence was higher in rural sparrows 70.16% (87/124) than in urban sparrows 50% (27/54). No avian influenza virus (AIV) or West Nile virus (WNV) genetic material was found, although one urban sparrow (0.58%) had antibodies to AIV. Serum proteomics revealed that rural sparrows showed an up-regulation of proteins involved in the metabolism, in contrast to proteins of the immune system and the coagulation system, which were found to be over-represented in urban sparrows. Thus, we documented a worse body condition and immune system activation in urban sparrows in contrast to a more active metabolism and a higher prevalence of avian malaria in rural sparrows, and at least occasional exposure to AIV in urban habitats. This information suggests exposure to urban environments may alter the host-pathogen relationship. Urbanization in combination with exposure to AIV, could modulate their role in viral spread and transmission.

Postnatal glucocorticoid exposure causes long-lasting effects on competitive but not neophobic behaviors in a common songbird.

Postnatal glucocorticoid exposure causes long-lasting effects on competitive but not neophobic behaviors in a common songbird.

Lead bioaccumulation and distribution in house sparrows (Passer domesticus): assessing urban pollution in Meknes, Morocco

Lead bioaccumulation and distribution in house sparrows (Passer domesticus): assessing urban pollution in Meknes, Morocco

Characterization of bird communities in four riparian habitats along the Sinaloa River, northwest Mexico

ABSTRACT This study characterizes the species diversity, richness, composition, and structure of avifauna in four riparian habitats (Bamoa, La Criba, Malecon, and Estero) along the Sinaloa River in northwest Mexico. The research was conducted from March to November 2024, employing the strip transect method and fixed-radius point count method for the bird survey. Data were analysed using the Shannon-Wiener, Simpson, and Margalef indices, relative abundance index, and Jaccard similarity coefficient. A total of 146 species were recorded across 19 orders and 47 families, with the order Passeriformes being the most represented. The Estero habitat exhibited the highest diversity and species richness, while Bamoa and La Criba showed the greatest similarity. The most abundant species were generalists adapted to human-altered environments (Zenaida asiatica, Tachycineta albilinea, Quiscalus mexicanus, and Passer domesticus). This study provides essential data for future conservation strategies in riparian ecosystems.

YOLO‐Behaviour: A simple, flexible framework to automatically quantify animal behaviours from videos

Abstract Manually coding behaviours from videos is essential to study animal behaviour but it is labour‐intensive and susceptible to inter‐rater bias and reliability issues. Recent developments of computer vision tools enable the automatic quantification of behaviours, supplementing or even replacing manual annotation. However, widespread adoption of these methods is still limited, due to the lack of annotated training datasets and domain‐specific knowledge required to optimize these models for animal research. Here, we present YOLO‐Behaviour, a flexible framework for identifying visually distinct behaviours from video recordings. The framework is robust, easy to implement, and requires minimal manual annotations as training data. We demonstrate the flexibility of the framework with case studies for event‐wise detection in house sparrow nestling provisioning, Siberian jay feeding, human eating behaviours and frame‐wise detections of various behaviours in pigeons, zebras and giraffes. Our results show that the framework reliably detects behaviours accurately and retrieve comparable accuracy metrics to manual annotation. However, metrics extracted for event‐wise detection were less correlated with manual annotation, and potential reasons for the discrepancy between manual annotation and automatic detection are discussed. To mitigate this problem, the framework can be used as a hybrid approach of first detecting events using the pipeline and then manually confirming the detections, saving annotation time. We provide detailed documentation and guidelines on how to implement the YOLO‐Behaviour framework, for researchers to readily train and deploy new models on their own study systems. We anticipate the framework can be another step towards lowering the barrier of entry for applying computer vision methods in animal behaviour.

A comparison of seasonal flexibility in pectoralis muscle fiber type and enzyme activity in migratory and resident sparrow species.

The pectoralis muscle in birds is important for flight and thermogenesis. In migratory songbirds this muscle exhibits seasonal flexibility in size, but whether this flexibility reflects changes in muscle fiber type has not been well documented. We investigated how seasonal changes in photoperiod affected pectoralis muscle fiber type and metabolic enzymes, comparing among three closely related sparrow species: two seasonal migrants and one year-round, temperate climate resident. We quantified fast oxidative glycolytic (FOG) and fast glycolytic (FG) fibers histologically, and measured activities of citrate synthase (CS) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in the pectoralis muscle of the three species that were acclimated to long or short periods of daylight. In all species, FOG was the predominant fiber type, but song sparrows had FG fibers regardless of daylight conditions. By contrast, Lincoln's sparrows incorporated FG fibers only under short-daylight conditions, and house sparrows did not significantly express FG fibers, regardless of daylight length. Both migratory species increased LDH activity in short-daylight conditions but did not alter CS activity. In contrast, resident house sparrows did not alter CS or LDH activity with changes in daylight length. Our findings suggest that the presence of FG fibers is important for seasonal flexibility in LDH activity. Additionally, migratory species exhibited seasonal flexibility in muscle fiber type and enzyme activity, presumably to support migratory flight, while the resident species did not exhibit such seasonal flexibility, suggesting that this consistent phenotype is important year-round, despite changing thermogenic requirements.