scholarly journals Stressful city sounds: glucocorticoid responses to experimental traffic noise are environmentally dependent

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 20170276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Davies ◽  
Nicole Haddad ◽  
Jenny Q. Ouyang
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Restraint Stress ◽  
Traffic Noise ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Pink Noise ◽  
Potential Mechanism ◽  
Phenotypic Differences ◽  
House Wrens ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas

A major challenge in urban ecology is to identify the environmental factors responsible for phenotypic differences between urban and rural individuals. However, the intercorrelation between the factors that characterize urban environments, combined with a lack of experimental manipulations of these factors in both urban and rural areas, hinder efforts to identify which aspects of urban environments are responsible for phenotypic differences. Among the factors modified by urbanization, anthropogenic sound, particularly traffic noise, is especially detrimental to animals. The mechanisms by which anthropogenic sound affects animals are unclear, but one potential mechanism is through changes in glucocorticoid hormone levels. We exposed adult house wrens, Troglodytes aedon , to either traffic noise or pink noise (a non-traffic noise control). We found that urban wrens had higher initial (pre-restraint) corticosterone than rural wrens before treatment, and that traffic noise elevated initial corticosterone of rural, but not urban, wrens. By contrast, restraint stress-induced corticosterone was not affected by noise treatment. Our results indicate that traffic noise specifically contributes to determining the glucocorticoid phenotype, and suggest that glucocorticoids are a mechanism by which anthropogenic sound causes phenotypic differences between urban and rural animals.

scholarly journals Functional links between rural and urban areas in the territory of the city of Banja Luka and the perspective of their development

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-62
Author(s):  
Milan Tomić ◽  
Sandra Rover ◽  
Bojan Pejović ◽  
Nina Uremović
Keyword(s):  
Urban Environment ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Urban Center ◽  
Rural And Urban Areas ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Political Dimensions ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas ◽  
Banja Luka

Different types of interactions between rural and urban areas have the effect of improving economic, social, cultural and political dimensions in both areas, separating these two areas by their type of activity. Rural and urban types of regions have different resources and means that can be used in a complementary way. In rural-urban interaction there is a possibility of occurrence of conflict of interest of these two areas. This kind of conflict should be overcome when applying the partnership approach between rural and urban areas. The types of rural areas, depending on the proximity of the urban center and the functions of these areas, are divided into suburban, agricultural and remote type areas. By determining the functions of each type of area, the type and intensity of the interactions of rural areas with the urban center are presented. Rural entrepreneurs are able to bridge rural-urban differences, possessing certain market knowledge and descriptions of the characteristics of urban environments, while benefiting from their position. Rural entrepreneurs' interaction with the urban environment can contribute to sustainable economic relations between citizens in urban and rural areas. This paper presents the results of research related to determining the functions of certain areas, their strengths, unused and utilized resources, the frequency of interaction with the urban environment and the perspectives of suburban, agricultural and remote type areas in the context of interaction with the urban environment.

scholarly journals Environmental Factors Associated With Social Participation of Older Adults Living in Metropolitan, Urban, and Rural Areas: The NuAge Study

2015 ◽  
Vol 105 (8) ◽  
pp. 1718-1725 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mélanie Levasseur ◽  
Alan A. Cohen ◽  
Marie-France Dubois ◽  
Mélissa Généreux ◽  
Lucie Richard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Social Participation ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas

scholarly journals Hematological Parameters and Stress Index in Rufous-Collared Sparrows Dwelling in Urban Environments

The Condor ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 162-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gricelda Ruiz ◽  
Mario Rosenmann ◽  
Francisco Fernando Novoa ◽  
Pablo Sabat
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Blood Glucose Concentration ◽  
Hematological Parameters ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
Stress Index ◽  
Urban Birds ◽  
Zonotrichia Capensis ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas

Abstract A number of wild bird species have fortuitously incorporated themselves into urban life. One of these, the Rufous-collared Sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis), dwells with seemingly similar success in urban and rural areas. Nevertheless, we found that urban Rufous-collared Sparrows have lower body weight, higher blood glucose concentration, higher proportion of heterophils (H), lower proportion of lymphocytes (L), and consequently, a larger H:L stress index, than rural ones. After two weeks of captivity rural birds developed blood characteristics that resembled those of urban birds. These indices reveal typical primary (acute), and secondary (chronic) stress characteristics in the urban birds. Parámetros Hematológicos e Indice de Estrés en Zonotrichia capensis de Ambientes Urbanos Resumen. Varias especies de aves han sido incorporadas a la vida urbana. Una de ellas, Zonotrichia capensis, habita con similar éxito tanto en ambientes urbanos como rurales. Sin embargo, hemos notado que individuos urbanos de Z. capensis tienen un peso corporal menor, mayores niveles de glucosa circulante, mayor proporción de heterófilos (H), menor proporción de linfocitos (L), y consecuentemente un mayor índice de estrés H:L que individuos rurales. Aves rurales mantenidos en cautiverio por dos semanas presentaron cambios hematológicos que concuerdan con las características de las aves urbanas. Estos índices revelan características de estrés primarias (agudas) y secundarias (crónicas) que son típicas en aves urbanas.

scholarly journals Long-term changes of plumage between urban and rural populations of white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys)

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn H Smith ◽  
Jesi Hessong-Brown ◽  
Sara E Lipshutz ◽  
Jennifer N Phillips ◽  
Catherine Rochefort ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Rural Populations ◽  
Zonotrichia Leucophrys ◽  
Selection Pressures ◽  
Rural Environments ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas

Abstract Urbanization is one of the most extreme forms of land transformation and results in changes to ecosystems and species compositions. As a result, there are strong directional selection pressures compared to nearby rural areas. Despite a surge in research on the different selection pressures on acoustic communication in urban and rural areas, there has been comparatively little investigation into traits involved with visual communication. We measured the plumage of museum specimens of white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys) from urban and adjacent rural habitats in San Francisco, CA, to assess the effects of divergent habitats on plumage. We found significant differences in dorsal plumage, but not crown plumage, between urban and rural populations that have been diverging over the past 100 years. Urban birds have increasingly darker and duller dorsal plumage, whereas rural birds in adjacent areas have plumage with richer hues and more color complexity. Our findings suggest a newly observed adaptation to urban environments by native species and suggest that many traits, in addition to acoustic signals, may be changing in response to urban selection pressures. Additional collections in urban areas are needed to explore likely divergences in plumage coloration between urban and rural environments.

scholarly journals Differential nest-defense to perceived danger in urban and rural areas by female Eurasian sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomas Kunca ◽  
Reuven Yosef
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Nest Defense ◽  
Defense Behavior ◽  
Accipiter Nisus ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Breeding Attempt ◽  
Suitable Habitats ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas ◽  
Investment Hypothesis

The reaction of wildlife to humans is known to differ with surroundings. In urban environments that provide suitable habitats for breeding birds, animals adapt to humans and their response is accordingly altered. This study examined the nest defense behavior of female Eurasian sparrowhawks (Accipiter nisus) during the breeding season in urban and rural areas of Prague. The females showed four different types of reaction to humans that approached the nest and differed significantly between the two study areas. Contrary to expectations, urban nesting females were more aggressive than rural conspecifics. The intensity of response increased as the season progressed, and females defended their broods to a much greater degree than their clutches in both urban and rural habitats, suggesting a differential effort as a function of their relative investment in the breeding attempt conforming with the parental investment hypothesis.

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