scholarly journals Status survey and conservation of the House Sparrow Passer domesticus (Aves: Passeriformes: Passeridae) through public participation in Kannur, Kerala, India

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 12098
Author(s):  
R. Roshnath ◽  
C. P. Arjun ◽  
J. Ashli ◽  
D. Sethu ◽  
P. Gokul

House Sparrows Passer domesticus are one of the most widespread passerines in the world.  A survey was conducted to find out their status in Kannur District, Kerala.  The survey recorded 553 sparrows in 35 sites in the district.  The perspectives of the public were recorded through a questionnaire survey and conservational inputs from the public were noted.  Most of the respondents (47%) suggested the provision of nest boxes for the enhanced breeding of sparrows.  Thus, our NGO along with the support of students, the public and the Kerala Forest Department, placed 100 nest boxes in various identified sparrow dwelling places in the district and it was found effective in the conservation of sparrows. 

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-26
Author(s):  
Damian Markulak

Abstract The population of House Sparrows in most of European cities declined in the end of the XX century (De Laet & Summers-Smith 2007). One of the presumable reasons of this decline is loss of nest sites. The House sparrow is a secondary hole-nester (Anderson 2006) and places its nest in holes of buildings, shrubs and nest boxes. The rate of nest box occupation depends on the location and competition with other species (Anderson T.R. 2006). The aim of this study was to investigate the rate of nest box occupation by House sparrows in Zielona Góra, Western Poland, which can provide information about the availability of nesting sites.


Author(s):  
Veera Mahesh ◽  
Suseela Lanka

Background: The House Sparrow (Passer domesticus L.), is a human-commensal bird species, belonging to the order Passeriformes. The rapid changes in our lifestyle resulted in the decrease of this bird population during the past four decades. Among the various causes viz., lack of food resources, pollution pressure, indiscriminate usage of pesticides etc. Habitat loss is found to be one of the main threats for their rapid decline. Installation of artificial nest boxes was found to be the best alternatives for raising the bird population. Methods: Jangareddigudem of West Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh, India, was chosen as the study area. The nest boxes were designed by incorporating certain modifications to the basic model specified by British Trust of Ornithology. Installation of the nest boxes was initiated from an area with moderate food resources, located towards south-west edge of the town and was expanded in to other areas in a latitudinal wise towards north and south directions. Data was collected on a regular basis to study the occupancy of the nest boxes by the house sparrows. Result: The model designed was proved to be protective from predators and also well accepted by the public. Out of 570 nests that were installed in the study area, 550 nests were occupied and being used for breeding, that comes to around 97.6% occupancy indicating the suitability and protectiveness of this model. The sparrow population in the study area has been increased with a count of sparrows from few to 300+ sparrows at each roosting site (two roosting sites) by the end of 2020 by utilizing the nest boxes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 20209-20217
Author(s):  
Foram P. Patel ◽  
Pravinsang P. Dodia

The House Sparrow Passer domesticus is widely distributed across the world, and local alarming declines in sparrow populations have prompted studies focused on this species. An understanding of fundamental life history aspects such as roosting patterns is necessary for the development of efficient conservation strategies. This study examined House Sparrow roosting patterns in urban, suburban and rural areas of Bhavnagar during 2017–2018. Potential roosting sites were identified, and peak arrival/ departure times and roosting duration of sparrows were recorded. We found that peak arrival and departure times were correlated with solar timings, indicating a strong influence of photoperiod on sparrow behaviour. Little variation was observed in sparrow arrival and departure times across the urban, suburban and rural gradient. However, arrival duration was significantly larger in urban and suburban areas. This may be due to the restricted availability of suitable patches within these habitats, requiring birds to spend more time foraging. House Sparrows mostly preferred thick vegetation for pre-roosting activities and roosting, and the loss of thick vegetation poses a threat to sparrow populations worldwide. In addition to increasing nesting opportunities by providing artificial nest sites, the importance of retaining appropriate habitats should be a major focus of conservation strategies.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
Jamalunlaili Abdullah ◽  
Che Bon Ahmad ◽  
Sri Rahayu Mohd Sa’ad ◽  
Shariman Abdul Wahab

Local Plan of every city in the world reflects its policies and public needs. Hence, it is vital to decide the suitable process representing the public voice. This paper analyses the process of public participation during the preparation of the Kuala Lumpur City Plan (KLCP). Its objective is to determine the levels of awareness and activism, and the planning issues, objectives, and comments that concern the public most. The outcome is expected to shed more insights into the process of public participation in planning in Malaysia concerning the urban development of the Malaysian capital.2398-4295 © 2016. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK.. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.Keywords: Public participation; Kuala Lumpur Draft City Plan 20; participatory planning; Kuala Lumpur


Birds ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-337
Author(s):  
Alfonso Balmori

In recent decades, there has been a decline of the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), mainly in European cities, and several hypotheses have been proposed that attempt to determine the causes of this rapid decline. Previous studies indicated that house sparrows were significantly negatively associated with increasing electromagnetic radiation and sparrows disappeared from areas most polluted. In addition, there are many studies on the impact of radiation on other bird and non-bird species, as well as numerous laboratory studies that demonstrated detrimental effects at electric field strength levels that can be found in cities today. Electromagnetic radiation is the most plausible factor for multiple reasons, including that this is the only one that affects the other hypotheses proposed so far. It is a type of pollution that affects productivity, fertility, decreases insects (chicken feed), causes loss of habitat, decreases immunity and can promote disease. Additionally, the recent sparrow decline matches the deployment of mobile telephony networks. Further, there are known mechanisms of action for non-thermal effects of electromagnetic radiation that may affect sparrows causing their decline. Thus, electromagnetic radiation must be seriously considered as a factor for house sparrows’ decline, probably in synergy with the other factors previously proposed.


1996 ◽  
Vol 271 (3) ◽  
pp. R561-R568 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Caviedes-Vidal ◽  
W. H. Karasov

We acclimated house sparrows (Passer domesticus; 26 g) to high-starch (HS), high-protein (HP), and high-lipid (HL) diets and tested the predictions that uptake of D-glucose and amino acids will be increased with increased levels of dietary carbohydrate and protein, respectively. HS birds had lower mediated D-glucose uptake rate than HP birds. Total uptake of L-leucine at low concentration (0.01 mM), but not of L-proline at 50mM, was increased by dietary protein. Measures of D-glucose maximal mediated uptake (1.2 +/- 0.2 nmol.min-1.mg-1) and intestinal mass (1 g) indicated that the intestine's mediated uptake capacity was only approximately 10% of the D-glucose absorbed at the whole animal level. This implied that nonmediated glucose absorption predominated. We applied a pharmacokinetic technique to measure in vivo absorption of L-glucose, the stereoisomer that does not interact with the Na(+)-glucose cotransporter. At least 75% of L-glucose that was ingested was apparently absorbed. This adds to the increasing evidence that substantial passive glucose absorption occurs in birds and may explain why mediated D-glucose uptake does not increase on high-carbohydrate diets.


The Condor ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 342-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. R. Whitekiller ◽  
David F. Westneat ◽  
P. L. Schwagmeyer ◽  
Douglas W. Mock

Abstract For House Sparrows, Passer domesticus, it has been proposed that the size of a male's throat badge correlates with his success in avoiding cuckoldry as well as obtaining extra-pair copulations (EPCs), and that females gain indirect (genetic) benefits from EPCs with large-badged males. Alternatively, female House Sparrows may engage in EPCs as a guard against their social mate's infertility. We used multi-locus DNA fingerprinting to examine paternity and found that among 41 broods and 136 offspring, 20% of the offspring were attributable to extra-pair fertilizations (EPFs). Forty-one percent of the 34 males were cuckolded; however, large-badged males were as likely to be cuckolded as small-badged males. Moreover, we found no evidence that large-badged males were inherently superior to small-badged males in terms of survivorship. We compared the prevalence of unhatched eggs in broods with and without extra-pair offspring to determine whether EPFs are associated with hatching failure. Although we detected no association between hatch failure and EPFs, enhanced fertility remains a plausible EPC benefit to females, but experimental approaches may be required to evaluate its significance.


2014 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 449-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlène Leloutre ◽  
Alice Gouzerh ◽  
Frédéric Angelier

Abstract Contrary to the nestling phase, the post-fledging phase has been less studied probably because it is challenging to follow the chicks after they fledge. However, this phase is crucial to consider when focusing on the life cycle of individuals because it is associated with new demands: After leaving the nest, individuals have to find their own food and cope with a new set of previously unknown stressors. In this study, we aimed at better understanding how energetically demanding the post-fledging period is in house sparrows Passer domesticus by measuring several indices of a fledgling’s state (body condition, fat and muscle scores and plumage quality). If the energetic demands of the post-fledging period are greater than those of the adult life, we predicted that fledglings should be in lower condition and should have a plumage of lower quality relative to adults. Supporting this prediction, the condition and the plumage of fledglings differed dramatically from those of adults. Interestingly, this difference disappeared in autumn. Overall, our results suggest that the post-fledging period is probably one of the most energetically demanding of the life cycle in this species. Supporting this idea, the resighting probability of fledglings was lower relative to adults. However, resighting probability depends on many factors (mortality, dispersal, habitat use and behaviours) and future studies are necessary to tease apart their relative importance in determining resighting probability [Current Zoology 60 (4): 449–459, 2014].


Author(s):  
Beata Dulisz ◽  
Anna Maria Stawicka ◽  
Paweł Knozowski ◽  
Tom A. Diserens ◽  
Jacek J. Nowakowski

AbstractModernization of urban buildings can decrease the availability of nesting sites in buildings, leading to sudden decreases in the density of avifauna. In this study, we investigated the use of nest boxes as a bird conservation measure after buildings were thermally modernized. In a 10 ha experimental area we mounted five types of nest boxes of different sizes and dimensions (a total of 132). Nest boxes were dedicated to species that lost access to their previous nesting sites. All species associated with the buildings significantly declined or disappeared. In the first year after the modernization, the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) decreased by 66% compared with the period before the modernization, Eurasian Jackdaw (Corvus monedula) by 68%, Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) by 70%, and Common Swift (Apus apus) by 100%. In the first two years after the modernization, the birds nested only in nest boxes. Five years of monitoring showed that using nest boxes as compensation for bird nesting sites lost during the renovation of buildings can cause a population to recover to ca. 50% of its original level. To optimize deployments of nest boxes, wildlife managers should consider target species’ preferences for the dimensions and placement of boxes and limit the time boxes are used if a species prefers nesting outside nest-boxes, but in buildings (e. g. the House Sparrow) and does not require additional support.


2006 ◽  
Vol 274 (1608) ◽  
pp. 391-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ádám Zoltán Lendvai ◽  
Mathieu Giraudeau ◽  
Olivier Chastel

The stress response is highly variable among individuals, but the causes of this variation remain largely unknown. In response to stressors, vertebrates secrete elevated levels of glucocorticoids which enhance survival, but concurrently interfere with reproduction. We tested the hypothesis that individuals flexibly modulate their stress response with respect to the reproductive value of their brood in free-living house sparrows ( Passer domesticus ). We experimentally increased or decreased clutch size during the nestling period and found that parents tending enlarged clutches responded less strongly to a stressor than those tending reduced clutches. In addition, we examined whether individuals responded less strongly to a stressor as the breeding season progressed and future reproductive opportunities declined. We found that the stress response decreased with breeding date during the birds' first breeding attempt, but it remained constant during their second breeding attempt. Within-individual variability in the stress response was related to the brood size manipulations the birds received in their two consecutive breeding attempts. These results provide the first experimental support for the hypothesis that individuals actively modulate their stress response with respect to the value of current reproduction.


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