scholarly journals Ageing in house sparrows is insensitive to environmental effects

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirre J. P. Simons ◽  
Isabel Winney ◽  
Antje Girndt ◽  
Mark Rees ◽  
Shinichi Nakagawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Effects ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Adult Mortality ◽  
Specific Rate ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Rate Of Ageing ◽  
Species Specific

AbstractVariation in individual life histories, and physiology, determines the rates at which new life is generated (reproduction) and lost (death) in a population. Studying the demography of deaths thus reveals fundamental aspects of the biology of individuals within a population. We studied mortality senescence – the increase in mortality rate with age – in wild and captive house sparrows (Passer domesticus), and demonstrate highly similar mortality senescence in both, but markedly lower vulnerability to death (frailty) in captivity. This suggests that house sparrows have a species-specific rate of ageing that is insensitive to environmental effects. Unexpectedly, juvenile and adult mortality co-varied positively across years in the wild, indicating that mortality is not strongly density-dependent. Mortality also varied widely among years, suggesting a strong environmental effect, and we explain the observed patterns using temperature data and predation by birds of prey. We discuss how stochastic environmental effects can affect the evolution of ageing.

Trade-offs between molt and immune activity in two populations of house sparrows (Passer domesticus)

2005 ◽  
Vol 83 (6) ◽  
pp. 780-787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn B Martin II
Keyword(s):  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Immune Defense ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Immune Activity ◽  
Feather Growth ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Time Of Year ◽  
Two Populations

Molt and immune defense are critical activities in which all birds must invest. Because each is costly, wild passerines may have to decrease their investment in one activity if they are to increase investments to others. Here, I studied such molt–immune trade-offs in one neotropical and one north-temperate population of house sparrows (Passer domesticus (L., 1758)). I included two populations in my study to investigate if molt–immune trade-offs in this species are phenotypically plastic or fixed. I expected that if they were fixed, then immune activity, molt, and immune–molt trade-offs would be distinct between populations after they were kept in captivity for 1 year under similar conditions. I found evidence for molt–immune trade-offs in house sparrows. Feather growth was inversely related to cutaneous immune activity to phytohemagglutinin (PHA). Furthermore, feather growth 3 weeks post immune challenge was lower in immune-challenged birds relative to saline-injected controls. However, there was no effect of population of origin on these patterns, or the rate of molt or PHA response at this time of year in each population. Thus, while house sparrows probably do face trade-offs between molt and immune activity in the wild, any variation in these trade-offs between populations are likely plastic responses to different environments.

scholarly journals Non-breeding feather concentrations of testosterone, corticosterone and cortisol are associated with subsequent survival in wild house sparrows

2011 ◽  
Vol 279 (1733) ◽  
pp. 1560-1566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Koren ◽  
Shinichi Nakagawa ◽  
Terry Burke ◽  
Kiran K. Soma ◽  
Katherine E. Wynne-Edwards ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stress Hormones ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Darwinian Fitness ◽  
Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
The Subject ◽  
As Stress

Potential mechanistic mediators of Darwinian fitness, such as stress hormones or sex hormones, have been the focus of many studies. An inverse relationship between fitness and stress or sex hormone concentrations has been widely assumed, although empirical evidence is scarce. Feathers gradually accumulate hormones during their growth and provide a novel way to measure hormone concentrations integrated over time. Using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry, we measured testosterone, corticosterone and cortisol in the feathers of house sparrows ( Passer domesticus ) in a wild population which is the subject of a long-term study. Although corticosterone is considered the dominant avian glucocorticoid, we unambiguously identified cortisol in feathers. In addition, we found that feathers grown during the post-nuptial moult in autumn contained testosterone, corticosterone and cortisol levels that were significantly higher in birds that subsequently died over the following winter than in birds that survived. Thus, feather steroids are candidate prospective biomarkers to predict the future survival of individuals in the wild.

Breeding House Sparrows, Passer domesticus in Captivity

1973 ◽  
pp. 39-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl J. Mitchell ◽  
Richard O. Hayes
Keyword(s):  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
In Captivity

scholarly journals Assessing the Psychological Priorities for Optimising Captive Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) Welfare

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jake Stuart Veasey
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Asian Elephant ◽  
Evolutionary Significance ◽  
Identification System ◽  
Asian Elephants ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Human Care ◽  
Species Specific

The welfare status of elephants under human care has been a contentious issue for two decades or more in numerous western countries. Much effort has gone into assessing the welfare of captive elephants at individual and population levels with little consensus having been achieved in relation to both the welfare requirements of captive elephants, or their absolute welfare status. A methodology capable of identifying the psychological priorities of elephants would greatly assist in both managing and assessing captive elephant welfare. Here, a Delphi-based Animal Welfare Priority Identification System© (APWIS©) is trialled to evaluate the reliability of the methodology and to determine the welfare significance of individual behaviours and cognitive processes for Asian elephants (Elaphus maximus). APWIS© examines the motivational characteristics, evolutionary significance and established welfare impacts of individual behaviours and cognitive processes of each species being assessed. The assessment carried out here indicates appetitive behaviours essential for survival in the wild, together species-specific social and cognitive opportunities are likely to be important to the welfare of Asian elephant in captivity. The output of this assessment, for the first time, provides comprehensive species-specific psychological/welfare priorities for Asian elephants that should be used to inform husbandry guidelines, habitat design and management strategies and can also provide a valuable reference tool for Asian elephant welfare assessment. The effective application of these insights could lead to substantive improvements in captive Asian elephant welfare.

Canary Pox in Sparrows and Canaries (Fringillidae) and in Weavers (Ploceidae); Pathology and Host Specificity of the Virus

1971 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 260-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. E. Giddens ◽  
L. J. Swango ◽  
J. D. Henderson ◽  
R. A. Lewis ◽  
D. S. Farner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Host Specificity ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Zonotrichia Leucophrys ◽  
Cytoplasmic Inclusions ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Cutaneous Reactions ◽  
Mycotic Infections

An epornitie of canary pox occurred in white-crowned sparrows ( Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelli), golden-crowned sparrows ( Zonotrichia atricapilla), and house sparrows ( Passer domesticus), which had been caught in the wild and were being studied in laboratories. Of 900 exposed birds, 100 died naturally with the disease and 200 with clinical signs, and their 600 cage mates were killed. The earliest lesion was proliferative dermatitis around the eyes and beak. Next, severe ulcerative dermatitis, often with secondary bacterial and mycotic infections, developed under the wing; rhinitis, pneumonia, pleuritis, and peritonitis occurred in advanced cases. Histologically, there were eosinophilic, sudanophilic, cytoplasmic inclusions in epithelial cells and in subepidermal lymphoreticular cells. The isolated virus produced 100% mortality when inoculated into white-crowned sparrows, house sparrows, and canaries but only local cutaneous reactions in pigeons, turkeys, and chickens.

scholarly journals Is degree of sociality associated with reproductive senescence? A comparative analysis across birds and mammals

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1823) ◽  
pp. 20190744
Author(s):  
Csongor I. Vágási ◽  
Orsolya Vincze ◽  
Jean-François Lemaître ◽  
Péter L. Pap ◽  
Victor Ronget ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Histories ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Similar Frequency ◽  
Reproductive Senescence ◽  
Social Traits ◽  
Pace Of Life ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Direct Outcome ◽  
Specific Degree

Our understanding on how widespread reproductive senescence is in the wild and how the onset and rate of reproductive senescence vary among species in relation to life histories and lifestyles is currently limited. More specifically, whether the species-specific degree of sociality is linked to the occurrence, onset and rate of reproductive senescence remains unknown. Here, we investigate these questions using phylogenetic comparative analyses across 36 bird and 101 mammal species encompassing a wide array of life histories, lifestyles and social traits. We found that female reproductive senescence: (i) is widespread and occurs with similar frequency (about two-thirds) in birds and mammals; (ii) occurs later in life and is slower in birds than in similar-sized mammals; (iii) occurs later in life and is slower with an increasingly slower pace of life in both vertebrate classes; and (iv) is only weakly associated, if any, with the degree of sociality in both classes after accounting for the effect of body size and pace of life. However, when removing the effect of species differences in pace of life, a higher degree of sociality was associated with later and weaker reproductive senescence in females, which suggests that the degree of sociality is either indirectly related to reproductive senescence via the pace of life or simply a direct outcome of the pace of life. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Ageing and sociality: why, when and how does sociality change ageing patterns?’

scholarly journals Rearing animals in captivity for the study of trematode life histories. II

1940 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 613-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Rothschild
Keyword(s):  
Related Species ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Adult Fluke ◽  
Morphological Comparison ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Previous Infection ◽  
In The Wild

The advantage of using laboratory-reared animals in the elucidation of trematode life histories is now generally recognized (Palombi, 1938; Stunkard, 1938, etc.). Further researches seem to emphasize this point. No matter how carefully controls are examined and no matter how precise is the morphological comparison between cercaria, metacercaria and adult fluke, the fact that the intermediate and final hosts have been exposed to previous infection in the wild—particularly by closely related species of worms—immediately detracts from the value of the experiments.

scholarly journals What Colour Is That Sparrow? A Case Study: Colour Aberrations In The House Sparrow Passer Domesticus

2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hein van Grouw
Keyword(s):  
House Sparrow ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Common Mutation ◽  
Museum Specimens ◽  
Museum Collections ◽  
The Past ◽  
Real Nature ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild

Abstract In this paper 16 distinct, heritable colour aberrations (mutations) in the House Sparrow are described, based on specimens found in museum collections, records of individuals seen in the wild and from bird breeders keeping aberrant coloured sparrows in captivity. Based on the frequency found in the museum specimens Brown is the most common mutation in the House Sparrow, followed by Ino and Albino. Besides the mutations there is also a, presumably, non-heritable aberration called Progressive Greying described. Progressive Greying is in fact by far the most common colour aberration found in the species but was, in the past, always assigned as ‘Partial Albino’ without its real nature being understood. This paper will give some insight in the nature of Progressive Greying.

scholarly journals Social Environment Affects Beak Color in Captive Male House Sparrows Passer Domesticus

2010 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-17
Author(s):  
Michael P. Lombardo ◽  
Patrick A. Thorpe ◽  
Sheila Colpetzer
Keyword(s):  
Social Environment ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Testosterone Levels ◽  
Secondary Sexual Characteristic ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Physical Interactions ◽  
Sexual Characteristic ◽  
Male House

AbstractBlack beak color in male House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) is a secondary sexual characteristic whose expression is directly correlated with testosterone levels. To experimentally determine if social environment affects black beak color and by implication testosterone levels, we housed wild-caught male sparrows either individually (n = 10), “Solo” males, or in the company of two other males (n = 4 “Group”s of 3 males), “Group” males, from 26 May – 7 July 2006. We predicted that “Solo” males would lose beak color faster than would “Group” males. We used digital images to monitor beak color once a week starting on 26 May. Beak blackness decreased more quickly and to a greater degree in “Solo” than in “Group” males. These results show that social environment in captivity affected beak color and suggest that male House Sparrows may require physical interactions to maintain breeding season levels of testosterone.

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