Environmental Component of Latitudinal Clutch-Size Variation in House Sparrows (Passer domesticus)

The Auk ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 112 (1) ◽  
pp. 249-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitchell Baker
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Environmental Component

Changes in lipid and protein reserves and in diet of breeding House Sparrows

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 950-956 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Krementz ◽  
C. Davison Ankney
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Threshold Level ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
High Protein ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Fat Reserves ◽  
Egg Formation ◽  
Nutrient Reserves

We collected House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) around London, Ontario, weighed their protein and fat reserves, and determined their food habits and egg production to test the effects of reserve levels on the timing of egg formation and the control of clutch size. Although consumption of high-protein foods was apparently related to insect availability, females consumed more high-protein foods than did males, especially during the laying period. Before egg production began, protein and fat reserves of males declined but those of females were constant. After egg production began, reserves of males remained constant through postreproduction. Neither protein nor fat reserves were accumulated by females before egg formation began, suggesting that an elevated threshold level of nutrient reserves was not necessary to commence egg formation. Protein reserves of females did not decline during egg production; fat reserves increased just before the first ovulation and declined rapidly thereafter. Neither fat reserve levels on the first day of ovulation nor the decline in fat reserves thereafter were related to clutch size. Postlaying females had, on average, enough fat reserves to produce an additional egg. We conclude that although female House Sparrow use fat reserves during egg laying, their clutch size is not controlled thereby.

Intraseasonal Reproductive Costs for the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

The Auk ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Bruce McGillivray
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Physiological Strain ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
High Productivity ◽  
Fat Reserves ◽  
Breeding Attempt

Abstract House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) near Calgary, Alberta begin breeding in early spring and continue through to late summer. High productivity from previous broods is negatively correlated with fledgling production from second and third broods. Although fat reserves may limit the ability of females to raise young, there is no concomitant drop in clutch size or in the probability of renesting. Pairs that fledge many young in a year space fledgling production evenly over the breeding season but are most productive in mid-season. The interval between fledging and the initiation of the next clutch increases with the number fledged. This delay, an indication of the physiological strain involved in rearing young, is greater for later broods and for females nesting in trees. Measures of reproductive effort (clutch size, number fledged, length of the nestling period) vary seasonally but give no indication of peaking for last broods. Thus, reproductive effort is not adjusted to parallel changes in the probability of surviving to the next breeding attempt.

Geographical differences in seasonal clutch size variation in multi-brooded bird species

Ibis ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 144 (4) ◽  
pp. 646-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
André A. Dhondt ◽  
Tracey L. Kast ◽  
Paul E. Allen
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Geographical Differences

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
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document