Effect of urbanisation on habitat generalists: starlings not so flexible?

Mennechez, Gwénaëlle; Clergeau, Philippe

doi:10.1016/j.actao.2006.03.002

Cited by 80 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…All the starlings in the data were found in grasslands that had higher temperatures and light intensity than branches due to sunlight exposure. Other studies confirm that, although considered to be a generalist, starlings in non-urban areas have higher incidence in grasslands than other habitats (Mennechez and Clergeau 2006). Therefore, the high frequency of starlings appearing at high light and warm places is also possibly a result of other factors like nesting and foraging behaviour.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 53%

Behavioural thermoregulation of alpine birds in response to low temperature in early summer

Zhou¹,

Maurer²,

Cobden³

et al. 2017

Researching Functional Ecology in Kosciuszko National Park

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Thermoregulation in animals can be achieved physiologically and behaviourally. Alpine birds can obtain significant radiation benefits from the sun and to help conserve heat they adjust their behaviours such as perching. The aim of this study was to explore the preferences of alpine birds for temperature and illumination of perching sites. We measured the temperature and light intensity of both potential sites and actual sites where birds perched, and compared the distributions of temperature and illumination of these on cold and warm days among species. Results showed a non-random selection of temperatures on cold days and a slightly higher light preference on warm days. Among species, only the little raven (Corvus mellori) showed a preference for warmer and lighter perching sites, while other species either showed no predilection or perched in warmer places due to other factors of habitat selection. When perching, behaviours like sitting (hiding feet) and puffing were more frequent on cold days and no birds chose a shady site when the temperature was low. The influence of predation may explain the random selection of perch site in most birds. Finally, the results indicate that alpine birds may be more favoured by the warming of the alpine region.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 53%

Behavioural thermoregulation of alpine birds in response to low temperature in early summer

Zhou¹,

Maurer²,

Cobden³

et al. 2017

Researching Functional Ecology in Kosciuszko National Park

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show abstract

“…One reason for this is that selection may favor parents producing large broods at the expense of fledglings' body condition, because even low-quality offspring may have high chances of survival in urban habitats. (Richner, 1989;Pierotti and Annett, 2001; Mennechez and Clergeau, 2006) found that adverse ecological effects may constrain the body size or condition of offspring. For example, several studies found that nestlings in urban habitats are fed by a reduced amount of, or lower quality food and reach lower body mass than nestlings in natural habitats.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urbanization Impact on Avifauna Population and its Status in Gulbarga City, Karnataka, India

Ramesh

Nijagunappa

Manjunath

2014

ILNS

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The avifauna of Gulbarga city was studied for a period of one year. Gulbarga city has got one reservoirs in the heart of the city, the Shree Sharnabasveshwar Lake. The city has well protected by greenery, Gulbarga University Campus, Kapnoor (Industrial area). During the study of three different transects lines, 30 plants species and 42 birds species were observed, in which 35 are resident species, 6 winter migrant and 1 summer migrant respectively. Highest population of Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) and Blue Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) was recorded in this study. The visitors include Whitenecked stork (Ciconia episcopus), Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava) which are found in the study area. According to status of birds maximum (average) numbers of birds were found in highly urbanized area when compared to industrial area, but species wise variation was high in low urbanized compared to that of highly urbanized area.

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“…After that every 5-7 days the ground on the vicinity of each nestbox was carefully inspected for removed sticks. As in urban parks, Starlings usually start breeding earlier then in suburban areas (Mennechez and Clergeau, 2006), from the beginning of April nestboxes were checked every 4-5 days to establish the first egg laying date.…”

Section: Field Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nest Site Preparation and Reproductive Output of the European Starling (Sturnus Vulgaris)

Mazgajski

2013

Avian Biology Research

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Hole-nesting birds are faced with the problem of dealing with the presence of nests from previous seasons. In a few species, specific nest site preparation behaviour has evolved, whereby birds remove part or all of old nest and only later build a new one. Such behaviour has not been studied in any great detail. European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) were allowed to breed in nestboxes that were empty or contained old nests from a previous year. The material of old nests was marked so it was possible to evaluate the amount of material that was removed by the bird itself. Additional observations were carried out to study the temporal aspect of such nest site preparation. Birds started old nest removal soon after arrival at the breeding location, around one month before egg laying. Birds with the highest cleaning effort, i.e. removed a larger part of the old nest, began laying eggs later, laid fewer eggs and brought food to nestlings less frequently. Besides wing length, there was no relationship between cleaning efforts and fledgling body mass nor tarsus length. Nest site preparation did not decrease the load of fleas in nests. Time and energy invested in the removal of an old nest may negatively affect the entire reproductive cycle. Other hypotheses connected with nest site preparation and low reproductive output are discussed.

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Effect of urbanisation on habitat generalists: starlings not so flexible?

Cited by 80 publications

References 41 publications

Behavioural thermoregulation of alpine birds in response to low temperature in early summer

Behavioural thermoregulation of alpine birds in response to low temperature in early summer

Urbanization Impact on Avifauna Population and its Status in Gulbarga City, Karnataka, India

Nest Site Preparation and Reproductive Output of the European Starling (Sturnus Vulgaris)

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