Invasion success and tolerance to urbanization in birds

Abstract

Cities are considered hotspots of biological invasions, yet it remains unclear why nonindigenous species are so successful in environments that most local native species do not tolerate. Here, we explore the intriguing possibility that humans may be unintentionally introducing species preadapted to persist in such environments. Combining data on historical introductions with information of avian assemblages along urbanwildland gradients, we found that avian species that in their native range proliferate in human-altered environments have been more likely to be transported and introduced to new locations than species confined to the wildland. We also found that such urban dwellers had higher chances to become established because they already had adaptations to cope with novel environments. These findings suggest that the pathway of introduction selects for species preadapted to persist in novel environments, providing an explanation for why non-indigenous birds are so successful in cities. Because the tendency to introduce species associated with human-altered environments continues, there is an urgent need to develop new regulations to prevent future introductions.

Bird Communities in Coastal Areas. Effects of Anthropogenic Influences and Distance From the Coast

“…Contrary to what has been described, where species present in cities are more similar among them and less with those in natural areas surrounding them (Clergeau et al, 2001), these areas can possibly keep certain environmental heterogeneity that allows new species assemblages where marine and terrestrial bird species can coexist. Additionally, there is a low rate of invasiveness, contrary to what has been found in other urban areas (González-Lagos et al, 2021). Our study found a few non-native species, where only Columba livia was selected in our analysis.…”

Genotypic and Phenotypic Characterization of Pathogenic Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., and Campylobacter spp., in Free-Living Birds in Mainland Portugal

“…Wild birds can become reservoirs and/or mechanical vectors for these pathogenic bacteria and for the antimicrobial-resistant genes they carry [4][5][6][7][8][9]. Throughout the time, many of these species have successfully adapted to human-dominated environments and regularly come into close contact with livestock, domestic animals, and people [10]. Furthermore, many of these species are migratory, flying thousands of kilometers to find the best ecological conditions and habitats for feeding, breeding, and raising their young, which can also contribute to widespread dissemination [11,12].…”

Editorial: Cognition and Adaptation to Urban Environments

“…Similarly, Chow et al found few differences between urban and non-urban gray squirrel populations when comparing their performances at four cognitive tasks measuring problem-solving, motor memory and spatial learning. In addition to urban and rural populations, they also compared invasive and native populations, which added a level of complexity, providing an opportunity to discuss the importance of cognition in two different yet similar contexts that have surprisingly been rarely considered together (but see Cadotte et al, 2017;Sol et al, 2017;González-Lagos et al, 2021): the successful introduction to, or invasion of, a new geographic area and the successful adaptation to, or colonization of, urban areas. Their study also emphasizes the need to conduct cognitive tests in nature instead of in captivity, avoiding some of the biases most studies are exposed to (especially variation in habituation and stress responses to captivity).…”