House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Lowther, Peter E.; Cink, Calvin L.

doi:10.2173/bow.houspa.01

Cited by 20 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…House sparrows (n = 15; 9 females, 6 males) were captured using mist nets at bird feeders in New Haven, CT, USA on 9 and 11 February 2018. Sparrows can be sexed using plumage features [ 66 ]; all animals were adults. In the lab, animals were singly housed with ad libitum access to mixed seeds, a vitamin-rich food supplement (Purina Lab Diet), grit, and water.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Constitutive gene expression differs in three brain regions important for cognition in neophobic and non-neophobic house sparrows (Passer domesticus)

Lattin

2022

PLoS ONE

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Neophobia (aversion to new objects, food, and environments) is a personality trait that affects the ability of wildlife to adapt to new challenges and opportunities. Despite the ubiquity and importance of this trait, the molecular mechanisms underlying repeatable individual differences in neophobia in wild animals are poorly understood. We evaluated wild-caught house sparrows (Passer domesticus) for neophobia in the lab using novel object tests. We then selected a subset of neophobic and non-neophobic individuals (n = 3 of each, all females) and extracted RNA from four brain regions involved in learning, memory, threat perception, and executive function: striatum, caudal dorsomedial hippocampus, medial ventral arcopallium, and caudolateral nidopallium (NCL). Our analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) used 11,889 gene regions annotated in the house sparrow reference genome for which we had an average of 25.7 million mapped reads/sample. PERMANOVA identified significant effects of brain region, phenotype (neophobic vs. non-neophobic), and a brain region by phenotype interaction. Comparing neophobic and non-neophobic birds revealed constitutive differences in DEGs in three of the four brain regions examined: hippocampus (12% of the transcriptome significantly differentially expressed), striatum (4%) and NCL (3%). DEGs included important known neuroendocrine mediators of learning, memory, executive function, and anxiety behavior, including serotonin receptor 5A, dopamine receptors 1, 2 and 5 (downregulated in neophobic birds), and estrogen receptor beta (upregulated in neophobic birds). These results suggest that some of the behavioral differences between phenotypes may be due to underlying gene expression differences in the brain. The large number of DEGs in neophobic and non-neophobic birds also implies that there are major differences in neural function between the two phenotypes that could affect a wide variety of behavioral traits beyond neophobia.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Constitutive gene expression differs in three brain regions important for cognition in neophobic and non-neophobic house sparrows (Passer domesticus)

Lattin

2022

PLoS ONE

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“…This is likely because they are opportunistic generalists (i.e., scavengers) that have benefited from anthropogenic activities (Kark et al 2007;Madge 2020). House Sparrows had higher densities in residential habitats because their breeding ecology includes nesting on houses (Lowther and Cink 2020). Both House Sparrows and Rock Pigeons are generally associated with human modified habitats all around the globe, and thus populations of these species tend to increase or remain stable in urban locations (Lowther and Cink 2020;Lowther and Johnston 2020).…”

Section: The Role Of Commercial and Residential Habitats For Birds In Cork Citymentioning

confidence: 99%

A Core On The Edge: An Urban Bird Assemblage On The Atlantic Margin Of Europe

Luscier¹

2021

Preprint

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Urbanization threatens bird populations globally, however many urban habitats present important refugia for wildlife in this rapidly changing landscape. Additionally, birds at the periphery of their global range are more prone to landscape changes and thus these distributions are good indicators of the effects of urbanization on diversity; e.g., bird populations and communities of Cork City, Ireland. The aim of this study was to evaluate effects from urbanization on bird densities (birds/ha), species richness, and species composition throughout Cork City. I surveyed 32 points selected with a stratified random sample within commercial areas, residential habitats, and green spaces throughout Cork City during four breeding seasons between 2016–2019. Species richness was highest in green spaces with 18–34 species; whereas residential habitats had 14–27 species and commercial areas had 9–20 species. The most densely populated species citywide were Rock Pigeons (5.4–9.1 birds/ha), Eurasian Jackdaws (2.9–3.8 birds/ha), Rooks (4.5–6.4 birds/ha), European Starlings (3.4–5.3 birds/ha), Eurasian Blackbirds (2.4–3.6 birds/ha), and House Sparrows (2.7–4.5 birds/ha). Overall a lack in urban green space surrounding survey points was most strongly associated with reduced species richness and population estimates. Also, both species richness and population densities tended to be higher in regions with less noise pollution and farther from the urban core. Ultimately these results corroborate other studies stressing the importance of urban green spaces for conserving biodiversity in cities. This is particularly important for the birds of Cork City given that these urban habitats are at the western edge of these species’ distributions.

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“…House sparrows ( Passer domesticus , hereafter ‘sparrows’) are native to Eurasia and North Africa, but the species has achieved near‐global range expansion during the last two centuries (Lowther & Cink, 2020). Sparrows were used as model species because they are found in various climates and habitats, being considered an excellent urban exploiter since their occurrence is routinely tied to human settlements (Meillère et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental, geographical and time‐related impacts on avian malaria infections in native and introduced populations of house sparrows (Passer domesticus), a globally invasive species

Ferraguti

Magallanes

Jiménez‐Peñuela

et al. 2023

Global Ecol Biogeogr

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Aim:The increasing spread of vector-borne diseases has resulted in severe health concerns for humans, domestic animals and wildlife, with changes in land use and the introduction of invasive species being among the main possible causes for this increase. We explored several ecological drivers potentially affecting the local prevalence and richness of avian malaria parasite lineages in native and introduced house sparrows (Passer domesticus) populations.

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House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Cited by 20 publications

References 0 publications

Constitutive gene expression differs in three brain regions important for cognition in neophobic and non-neophobic house sparrows (Passer domesticus)

Constitutive gene expression differs in three brain regions important for cognition in neophobic and non-neophobic house sparrows (Passer domesticus)

A Core On The Edge: An Urban Bird Assemblage On The Atlantic Margin Of Europe

Environmental, geographical and time‐related impacts on avian malaria infections in native and introduced populations of house sparrows (Passer domesticus), a globally invasive species

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