Body-mass-dependent trade-off between immune response and uropygial gland size in house sparrows Passer domesticus

2014 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregorio Moreno-Rueda
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Uropygial Gland ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Gland Size ◽  
Mass Dependent

scholarly journals Uropygial gland and bib colouration in the house sparrow

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregorio Moreno-Rueda
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Uropygial Gland ◽  
Short Term ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Gland Size ◽  
Plumage Colouration ◽  
Preen Oil ◽  
Male House

Birds frequently signal different qualities by plumage colouration, mainly during mating. However, plumage colouration is determined during the moult, and therefore it would indicate the quality of individual birds during the moult, not its current quality. Recent studies, however, suggest that birds could modify plumage colouration by using cosmetic preen oil. In this study, I show that bib colouration is related to uropygial gland size and body condition in male house sparrows (Passer domesticus). Moreover, I conducted an experiment in which a group of sparrows were inoculated with an antigen, mimicking an illness. In control birds, short-term changes in bib colouration were related to both body condition and change in uropygial gland size. Therefore, birds that spent more preen oil (thus, reducing uropygial gland size), showed a greater colouration change. However, bib colouration did not change with use of preen oil in experimental birds inoculated with the antigen. That is, the simulated illness cancelled the effect of preen oil on bib colouration. Given that the experiment did not affect preen oil production, this finding suggests that the immune challenge provoked a change in the composition of preen oil, affecting its cosmetic properties. In short, the results of this study suggest that (1) male house sparrows produce cosmetic preen oil that alters the colouration of their bibs; (2) the more effort in preening, the more change in bib colouration; and (3) in this way, bib colouration has the potential to signal current health status, since less healthy birds showed less capacity to change bib colouration.

Diet quality affects postnuptial molting and feather quality of the house sparrow (Passer domesticus): interaction with humoral immune function?

2008 ◽  
Vol 86 (8) ◽  
pp. 834-842 ◽  
Author(s):  
Péter László Pap ◽  
Csongor István Vágási ◽  
Gábor Árpád Czirják ◽  
Zoltán Barta
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Humoral Immunity ◽  
Immune Activation ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
The Body ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Humoral Immune ◽  
Quality Food

We investigated the effects of nutritional limitation, humoral immune activation, and their interaction on postnuptial molting of aviary-kept house sparrows ( Passer domesticus (L., 1758)). In a 2 × 2 experimental design, we measured the progress of molting and the quality of feathers produced during molting by house sparrows exposed to different diet qualities (high and low) and humoral immune activation with sheep red blood cells (SRBC). Food quality, but not the activation of humoral immunity, affected significantly the body mass and the process of molting. Sparrows feeding on low-quality food had decreased body mass and longer molts than the high-quality group. Low-quality food, but not the activation of humoral immunity, reduced significantly the length and mass (i.e., the quality) of primaries grown during molting. Birds responded significantly to injection with SRBC compared with the control group, but the immune response was similar between nutritional groups. The absence of a negative effect of humoral immunity on molting in house sparrows might be related to the low energy and nutritional requirements of mounting and maintaining a humoral immune response.

Seasonality in the uropygial gland size and feather mite abundance in house sparrows Passer domesticus: natural covariation and an experiment

2010 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 653-661 ◽  
Author(s):  
Péter L. Pap ◽  
Csongor I. Vágási ◽  
Gergely Osváth ◽  
Cosmin Mureşan ◽  
Zoltán Barta
Keyword(s):  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Uropygial Gland ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Feather Mite ◽  
Gland Size

scholarly journals Uropygial gland and bib colouration in the house sparrow

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregorio Moreno-Rueda
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Uropygial Gland ◽  
Short Term ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Gland Size ◽  
Plumage Colouration ◽  
Preen Oil ◽  
Male House

Birds frequently signal different qualities by plumage colouration, mainly during mating. However, plumage colouration is determined during the moult, and therefore it would indicate the quality of individual birds during the moult, not its current quality. Recent studies, however, suggest that birds could modify plumage colouration by using cosmetic preen oil produced by the uropygial gland. In this study, I show that bib colouration is related to uropygial gland size and body condition in male house sparrows (Passer domesticus). Moreover, I conducted an experiment in which a group of sparrows were inoculated with an antigen, mimicking an illness. In control birds, short-term changes in bib colouration were related to both body condition and change in uropygial gland size. Therefore, birds that reduced uropygial gland size showed a greater colouration change. However, bib colouration did not change with the change in uropygial gland size in experimental birds inoculated with the antigen. Given that the experiment did not affect preen oil production or consumption, this finding tentatively suggests that the immune challenge provoked a change in the composition of preen oil, affecting its cosmetic properties. In short, the results of this study suggest that (1) male house sparrows produce cosmetic preen oil that alters the colouration of their bibs; (2) the more change in uropygial gland size, the more change in bib colouration; and (3) in this way, bib colouration has the potential to signal current health status, since less healthy birds showed less capacity to change bib colouration.

scholarly journals Uropygial gland and bib colouration in the house sparrow

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregorio Moreno-Rueda
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Uropygial Gland ◽  
Short Term ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Gland Size ◽  
Plumage Colouration ◽  
Preen Oil ◽  
Male House

Birds frequently signal different qualities by plumage colouration, mainly during mating. However, plumage colouration is determined during the moult, and therefore it would indicate the quality of individual birds during the moult, not its current quality. Recent studies, however, suggest that birds could modify plumage colouration by using cosmetic preen oil. In this study, I show that bib colouration is related to uropygial gland size and body condition in male house sparrows (Passer domesticus). Moreover, I conducted an experiment in which a group of sparrows were inoculated with an antigen, mimicking an illness. In control birds, short-term changes in bib colouration were related to both body condition and change in uropygial gland size. Therefore, birds that spent more preen oil (thus, reducing uropygial gland size), showed a greater colouration change. However, bib colouration did not change with use of preen oil in experimental birds inoculated with the antigen. That is, the simulated illness cancelled the effect of preen oil on bib colouration. Given that the experiment did not affect preen oil production, this finding suggests that the immune challenge provoked a change in the composition of preen oil, affecting its cosmetic properties. In short, the results of this study suggest that (1) male house sparrows produce cosmetic preen oil that alters the colouration of their bibs; (2) the more effort in preening, the more change in bib colouration; and (3) in this way, bib colouration has the potential to signal current health status, since less healthy birds showed less capacity to change bib colouration.

scholarly journals Testing the Risk-Disturbance Hypothesis in a Fragmented Landscape: Nonlinear Responses of House Sparrows to Humans

The Condor ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 105 (2) ◽  
pp. 316-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esteban Fernández-Juricic ◽  
Angel Sallent ◽  
Ruben Sanz ◽  
Iñaki RodrÍguez-Prieto
Keyword(s):  
Resource Use ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Mechanistic Explanation ◽  
Fragmented Landscape ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Nonlinear Responses ◽  
Consumption Rates

Abstract We used House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) as a model species to assess responses to different levels of human visitation in a fragmented urban landscape. Regionally, we analyzed linear and nonlinear variation in breeding densities in relation to observed pedestrian rates in forest fragments. Locally, we tested experimentally the resource-use–disturbance trade-off hypothesis, which suggests that an increase in the frequency of human visitation decreases the frequency of resource use by an animal, assuming that individuals react to humans as if they were potential predators, and that responses depend upon the probability of visually detecting humans. Breeding densities peaked at intermediate pedestrian rates in two consecutive years. Consumption rates of artificial food within fragments were higher at intermediate pedestrian rates, which may indicate that this species uses people as cues to find food. Consumption rates decreased at high pedestrian rates as a result of low tolerance to people and a reduction in the time devoted to foraging. Our results imply a balance between attraction to and avoidance of humans to account for these nonlinear responses, and that the resource-use–disturbance trade-off hypothesis can be a useful mechanistic explanation for understanding the responses to humans of species that may receive a direct or indirect benefit from human presence. Probando la Hipótesis del Riesgo-Perturbación en un Paisaje Fragmentado: Respuestas No Lineales de Passer domesticus hacia Humanos Resumen. Se escogió a Passer domesticus como especie modelo para analizar su respuesta a distintos niveles de perturbación humana en un ambiente urbano fragmentado. Regionalmente, se analizaron las variaciones lineales y no-lineales en las densidades reproductivas con relación a la tasa observada de visitantes a fragmentos forestales. Localmente, se comprobó experimentalmente la hipótesis del balance entre el uso del recurso y perturbación, la cual analiza la relación entre la frecuencia de visita y la frecuencia de uso del recurso, suponiendo que los animales reaccionan hacia los humanos como si fuesen depredadores, y que las respuestas dependen de las probabilidades de detección de humanos. Las densidades reproductivas en dos años consecutivos fueron más elevadas con tasas de visita intermedias. Las tasas de consumo dentro de fragmentos mostraron un pico cuando la frecuencia de visita fue intermedia, lo que sugiere que esta especie utiliza a los humanos como indicadores de alimento; pero la tasa de consumo disminuyó con frecuencias de visita mas elevadas como resultado de la baja tolerancia hacia humanos y la reducción del tiempo dedicado a la alimentación. Nuestros resultados indican que un balance entre atracción y repulsión hacia humanos está involucrado en las respuestas no lineales y que la hipótesis del balance entre el uso del recurso y el disturbio puede ser una explicación apropiada para comprender las respuestas de especies que reciben un beneficio directo o indirecto de la presencia humana.

scholarly journals Mites Macronyssidae Parasites of Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Passeriformes: Passeridae) in the Southern of Brazil

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Luciana Siqueira Silveira dos Santos ◽  
Carolina Silveira Mascarenhas ◽  
Paulo Roberto Silveira dos Santos ◽  
Nara Amélia da Rosa Farias
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
The Body ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Mean Intensity ◽  
Total Length ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Mite Collection ◽  
Parasitic Mites

The aim of this study was to report the species of haematophagous parasitic mites of Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) and analyze the infestation rates regarding to gender, body mass, and total length of the hosts. To do so, each of the 100 house sparrows captured in the urban area of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, was identified by gender, weighed, and measured. The mite collection was carried out after applying an ectoparasite-repelling talc in the body of the birds. Pellonyssus reedi was found in 29 house sparrows with mean intensity of 8.37 mites/host and Ornithonyssus bursa was found in two birds, only one male host showing co-infestation. The prevalence and mean intensity of P. reedi between male and female adults did not show significant difference, nor was there any correlation among species abundance, body mass, and total length of the house sparrows. We report the occurrence of P. reedi and O. bursa parasitizing P. domesticus in the southern of Brazil.

scholarly journals Mass-dependent predation risk as a mechanism for house sparrow declines?

2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross MacLeod ◽  
Phil Barnett ◽  
Jacquie Clark ◽  
Will Cresswell
Keyword(s):  
Predation Risk ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
House Sparrow ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Fat Reserves ◽  
Mass Dependent ◽  
Starvation Risk

House sparrow ( Passer domesticus ) numbers have declined rapidly in both rural and urban habitats across Western Europe over the last 30 years, leading to their inclusion on the UK conservation red list. The decline in farmland has been linked to a reduction in winter survival caused by reduced food supply. This reduction in food supply is associated with agricultural intensification that has led to the loss of seed-rich winter stubble and access to spilt grain. However, urban house sparrows have also declined, suggesting that reduced food supply in farmland is not the sole reason for the decline. Here, we show that changes in house sparrow mass and thus fat reserves are not regulated to minimize starvation risk, as would be expected if limited winter food were the only cause of population decline. Instead, the species appears to be responding to mass-dependent predation risk, with starvation risk and predation risk traded-off such that house sparrows may be particularly vulnerable to environmental change that reduces the predictability of the food supply.

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