Differences in biometry and body condition of the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) in urban and rural population during breeding season

Abstract

Data collected out of the breeding season suggest that House sparrows (Passer domesticus) from the urban populations are characterized by a smaller body size and poorer body condition compared to birds from rural populations. Considering an urbanized Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) and other potential predators, a new predator-prey dependency is developing that can also be a reason for the House sparrow's poorer condition. This study was aimed at comparing the multivariate biometrical characteristics and few body condition indices of adult birds from urban and rural populations during the breeding season. It was hypothesized that a higher predation risk during the breeding season concerns mainly males, thus affecting their poorer condition. Most of the condition indices of males were significantly lower in the urban population. Males from the urban populations had lower body mass, shorter tarsus, longer alula, greater Kipp's distance and higher wing pointedness index in comparison to the birds from rural populations, whereas these differences were not found between females. We suggest that the lower body condition and biometric differences in the analyzed birds are a means of adapting to the new predator-prey scheme in accordance to the tradeoff theory between starvation and predation risks. A lower condition of birds in poor foraging urban habitats and higher predation risk may be indicative of a declining population.

A comparison of the nutritional physiology and gut microbiome of urban and rural house sparrows (Passer domesticus)

“…The objective of this study was to compare the nutritional physiology and gut microbiome of House Sparrows captured from urban and rural locations. Several studies have shown that urban House Sparrows weigh less and are in poor body condition compared to rural conspecifics, which may contribute to population declines in urban sparrows (Dulisz et al, 2016;Liker et al, 2008;Meillère et al, 2015;Vangestel et al, 2010). Although body mass was not significantly different between the urban and rural birds examined in this study, several notable differences in plasma metabolites and gut microbiota were observed.…”

Do wild-caught urban house sparrows show desensitized stress responses to a novel stressor?

“…Cities may provide urban-dwelling species with favorable foraging opportunities, at least for adults, which appears to contradict the common finding that urban sparrows are often leaner than rural ones ( Bókony et al, 2012 ; Meillère et al, 2015 ; Salleh Hudin et al, 2016 ). Yet, experimental studies suggest that the lower body condition of urban sparrows likely reflects a plastic response to more predictable food supplies, trading-off with predation risk ( Dulisz et al, 2016 ; Salleh Hudin et al, 2016 ). In line with this, no differences in GBW or feather quality were found between urban and rural house sparrows [( Meillère et al, 2017 ; Salleh Hudin et al, 2016 ), this study], two traits assumed to be affected by diet quality ( Pap et al, 2008 ).…”

The Influence of Urban Environments on Oxidative Stress Balance: A Case Study on the House Sparrow in the Iberian Peninsula

“…The weak condition of urban birds may be also linked to the nutritional constraints that they suffer during early-life, which could negatively affect body condition in adulthood (Bókony et al, 2010;Seress et al, 2012), even if the restriction diminish at later life stages (Liker et al, 2008). Body condition, especially during development, is often positively correlated with pre-and post-fledgling survival rates (Lamb et al, 2016); consequently, poor condition is often observed in a declining population such as urban House Sparrows (Dulisz et al, 2016).…”