How birds colonize cities: genetic evidence from a common waterbird, the Eurasian coot

Minias, Piotr; Włodarczyk, Radosław; Minias, Alina; Dziadek, Jarosław

doi:10.1111/jav.01334

Cited by 15 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…An analysis of microsatellite data in the European kestrel Falco tinnunculus showed significant genetic differentiation (F ST = 0.063) between urban and rural sites lying at a distance of ca 90 km, while suburban pairs showed intermediate differentiation with both urban and rural conspecifics (Rutkowski et al 2006). Also, long-persistent urban populations of the Eurasian coot Fulica atra showed significant genetic divergence (F ST > 0.04) with nearby rural populations located 20-35 km from city borders, although a newly established urban population was more genetically similar to the population from adjacent wildland (Minias et al 2017). Similar patterns have been observed in passerine species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Extensive gene flow along the urban–rural gradient in a migratory colonial bird

Indykiewicz

Podlaszczuk

Janiszewska

et al. 2018

Journal of Avian Biology

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Urban colonization by wildlife involves a combination of several different mechanisms, including phenotype or genotype sorting, phenotypic plasticity and microevolutionary adaptation. Combination of these processes can produce a rapid phenotypic, but also genetic divergence of urban versus rural populations. Here, we examined the pattern of genetic differentiation between urban and rural populations of a colonial migratory bird, the black‐headed gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus. To this end, we sampled ca 170 individuals from six (two urban and four rural) colonies in northern Poland, and genotyped them at ten microsatellite loci. Our analysis provided evidence for negligible genetic divergence of urban and rural colonies, as assessed with fixation index FST and Nei's unbiased genetic distance D (mean pairwise urban‐rural comparisons: FST = 0.003 ± 0.001 [SE] and D = 0.012 ± 0.006 [SE]). Bayesian clustering methods provided support for homogeneous genetic structure across all urban and rural populations. Also, we found no support for reduced allelic diversity in urban versus rural colonies. These results stand in a stark contrast to the previous findings on the genetic consequences of urbanization in birds. We hypothesize that this pattern could possibly be attributed to the important life‐history characters of the black‐headed gull, including coloniality, migratoriness, and high dispersal propensity. Our study provides a novel insight into the urban landscape genetics, underlining large variation in the mechanisms of urban colonization and its genetic consequences in wild animal populations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Extensive gene flow along the urban–rural gradient in a migratory colonial bird

Indykiewicz

Podlaszczuk

Janiszewska

et al. 2018

Journal of Avian Biology

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“…In fact, a large behavioural divergence between the recently established urban population in Łódź and an adjacent rural population indicates that these processes are very likely to be in operation. Our recent study of microsatellite divergence between several urban and rural coot populations from Poland suggested that Łódź was colonized by rural individuals rather than by birds originating from other urban populations, providing support for an independent model of colonization (Minias et al 2017). This means that coots which colonized the city of Łódź within the last 15 years were either behaviourally and physiologically pre-adapted to urban life (phenotype sorting) or were extremely plastic in their behaviour.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Expression of the following behavioural characters was assessed: aggression at the nest, exploitation of humanderived food resources, boldness towards humans during foraging, and stress responsiveness. In the previous work, we used population genetic methods to show that the new urban coot population from Łódź has been established via an influx of individuals from the nearby rural populations (Minias et al 2017). Thus, here we hypothesized that any behavioural differences between coots from Łódź and adjacent wildland should be interpreted as an effect of phenotype sorting or phenotypic plasticity.…”

Section: Behavioural Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of urban behaviour is associated with time since urbanization in a reed-nesting waterbird

2018

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Behavioural adaptations are recognized as crucial determinants for successful establishment and persistence of animal populations in a novel urban environment. Here, we examined mechanisms responsible for the development of urban behavioural type in a common waterbird, the Eurasian coot Fulica atra. We compared the behaviour of coots from a rural population and two urban populations that differed in the timing of colonization event (1960s vs. 2000s). We found that some behavioural characters associated with urban life (aggression during nest defence and boldness towards humans during foraging) were more strongly expressed in the older urban population when compared with the recently established urban population. By contrast, coots from the two urban populations showed a similar likelihood of exploiting human-derived food resources, as well as they showed similar levels of physiological stress. Urban coots were generally more aggressive, bolder, and less stressed than their rural conspecifics. Large behavioural and physiological divergence of coots from the recently established urban population and their rural conspecifics suggested that phenotypic plasticity and phenotype sorting may play a key role in the initial stages of urban colonization. On the other hand, increasing expression of boldness and aggression with the time since urbanization may suggest the role of microevolutionary adaptation in response to novel selective forces associated with the urban environment. Our results indicate that a combination of different processes (phenotypic plasticity, phenotype sorting, and microevolution) can determine successful colonization of urban areas by the Eurasian coots, and possibly other bird species.

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“…The presence of such relationship in the new urban population may suggest that consistency in habitat selection across the entire annual cycle is the result of behavioral plasticity or NHPI rather than the genetic background. The analysis of microsatellite variation indicated that coot population from Łódź was genetically more similar to neighboring semi- and non-urban populations than to old urban populations from Poland 62 . Łódź was colonized quite recently (beginning of twenty-first century) probably through an influx of individuals from the surrounding wildland (model of independent urban colonization) and microevolutionary adaptations related to a novel urban environment are unlikely to be fixed at the genetic level in such a short period of time since the colonization 62 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Consistent choice of landscape urbanization level across the annual cycle in a migratory waterbird species

Chyb

Jedlikowski

Włodarczyk

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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Rapid urbanization has a great impact on avian distribution, ecology, habitat selection, and behavior. Recent avian studies indicated that individuals remain consistent in their behavioral responses to human disturbance across short periods of time. However, there is still little information about keeping consistent behaviors in distinct locations across different stages of the annual cycle. In this study, we aimed to test for long-term consistency in habitat selection with respect to urbanization in a migratory waterbird species, the Eurasian coot Fulica atra. For this purpose, we individually marked ca. 300 coots from four populations that varied in urbanization level and tracked their habitat preferences during the non-breeding season. We found that individuals from urban breeding populations selected habitats with a higher share of artificial areas during the non-breeding season, when compared to non-urban individuals. Also, a comparison of non-breeding sites selected by birds from our study populations with random sites showed that urban birds selected sites with higher urbanization level than resulting from random availability. Finally, we found a seasonal variation in habitat preferences in coots—individuals from all study populations selected more urbanized areas as the non-breeding season progressed. The results indicate that birds are able to remain consistent in habitat preferences not only at a large geographical scale, but also across different seasons. Marked between-population variation in habitat selection across the annual cycle may reflect personality differences of coots from urban and non-urban populations, and it stays in line with the personality-matching habitat choice hypothesis.

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How birds colonize cities: genetic evidence from a common waterbird, the Eurasian coot

Cited by 15 publications

References 67 publications

Extensive gene flow along the urban–rural gradient in a migratory colonial bird

Extensive gene flow along the urban–rural gradient in a migratory colonial bird

Development of urban behaviour is associated with time since urbanization in a reed-nesting waterbird

Consistent choice of landscape urbanization level across the annual cycle in a migratory waterbird species

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