Article
Biology
Antonio Brun, Melisa E. Magallanes, William H. Karasov, Enrique Caviedes-Vidal
Summary: The activity of APN in birds is correlated with changes in mRNA, and the adaptation speed in nestling house sparrows seems slower compared with laboratory rodents. This suggests that nestlings may biochemically restructure their gut in response to sustained increase in insects and protein intake.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Physiology
Melanie G. Kimball, Courtney T. Harding, Kaitlin E. Couvillion, Keegan R. Stansberry, Tosha R. Kelly, Christine R. Lattin
Summary: The presence of predators can influence the behavior and brain activity of female house sparrows, but the interaction with hormonal state is not well understood.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Concepcion Salaberria, Carlos A. Chavez-Zichinelli, Isabel Lopez-Rull, Marta C. Romano, Jorge E. Schondube
Summary: Mexico City is highly polluted, and this study investigates the impact of air pollution on house sparrows. The study finds a negative relationship between ozone concentration and the natural antibody response in house sparrows, suggesting that ozone pollution may constrain the immune system of the sparrows.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ursula K. Beattie, Nina Fefferman, Michael Romero
Summary: This study aimed to investigate whether different intensities of chronic stress would produce proportional physiological responses. The results showed that while the changes in body weight and blood metabolites varied across different stress groups, these metrics were not reliable indicators of the intensity of long-term chronic stress.
Article
Ecology
Alzbeta Darolova, Miroslav Polacek, Jan Kristofik, Barbara Lukasch, Herbert Hoi
Summary: Bacteria can have both positive and negative impacts on animal health and fitness, especially those residing in vertebrates' skin and inner organs. Research shows that bird mothers can pass bacterial strains to their offspring through eggshells, with the female immune system potentially influencing vertical transmission of bacteria. This study reveals a negative correlation between female MHC diversity and bacteria on eggshells, marking the first discovery of such a relationship.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Martina Ferraguti, Sergio Magallanes, Jessica Jimenez-Penuela, Josue Martinez-de la Puente, Luz Garcia-Longoria, Jordi Figuerola, Jaime Muriel, Tamer Albayrak, Staffan Bensch, Camille Bonneaud, Rohan H. Clarke, Gabor A. Czirjak, Dimitar Dimitrov, Kathya Espinoza, John G. Ewen, Farah Ishtiaq, Wendy Flores-Saavedra, Laszlo Zsolt Garamszegi, Olof Hellgren, Dita Horakova, Kathryn P. Huyvaert, Henrik Jensen, Asta Krizanauskiene, Marcos R. Lima, Charlene Lujan-Vega, Eyofinn Magnussen, Lynn B. Martin, Kevin D. Matson, Anders Pape Moller, Pavel Munclinger, Vaidas Palinauskas, Peter L. Pap, Javier Perez-Tris, Swen C. Renner, Robert Ricklefs, Sergio Scebba, Ravinder N. M. Sehgal, Manuel Soler, Eszter Szoellosi, Gediminas Valkiunas, Helena Westerdahl, Pavel Zehtindjiev, Alfonso Marzal
Summary: This study investigated the ecological drivers affecting avian malaria parasite lineages in native and introduced house sparrows. The results showed that urbanization was positively related to parasite prevalence in both native and introduced populations, with higher infection in areas with intermediate levels of urbanization. In introduced populations, altitude and time since bird introduction were positively associated with the number of parasite lineages.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Edgar Bernat-Ponce, David Ferrer, Jose A. Gil-Delgado, German M. Lopez-Iborra
Summary: Studies show that in Eastern Spain, House Sparrows prefer to be close to surface rubbish containers, possibly due to the higher availability of food debris. Additionally, the presence of other urban features can also influence the abundance of House Sparrows.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tamer Albayrak, Asuman Karadeniz Pekgoz
Summary: The study showed that heavy metal accumulations in polluted areas may affect the morphometric characters' length of house sparrows, with Zn accumulation in muscle and liver showing positive correlations with multiple characters, while Cu accumulation showing negative correlations with multiple characters. Negative coefficient values of some heavy metal bioaccumulation for morphometry were observed, indicating a potential impact on the bird species in polluted areas.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
M. Ellesse Lauer, Haley Kodak, Tamer Albayrak, Marcos R. Lima, Daniella Ray, Emma Simpson-Wade, David R. Tevs, Elizabeth L. Sheldon, Lynn B. Martin, Aaron W. Schrey
Summary: As an introduced species, house sparrows have rapidly adapted to new habitats by utilizing epigenetic mechanisms, resulting in phenotypic patterns similar to those of native populations. This study examined DNA methylation patterns in house sparrow populations across a broad geographic scale, including populations with different introduction histories. The results showed that invading house sparrows had the highest variance in DNA methylation, followed by established ones, while native populations had the lowest variance. The largest differences in DNA methylation were found between invading and native populations, and the level of methylation was negatively correlated with the time since introduction, indicating a role of DNA methylation in the successful colonization of house sparrows.
JOURNAL OF HEREDITY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Pauline Bellot, Francois Brischoux, Clementine Fritsch, Aurelie Goutte, Fabrice Alliot, Steffi Rocchi, Frederic Angelier
Summary: This study provides the first evidence that female birds exposed to tebuconazole can lead to egg contamination. Birds in agroecosystems may be frequently exposed to fungicides, which could have negative impacts on biodiversity.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yoshihiko Sonoki, Quoc Dat Pham, Emma Sparr
Summary: The barrier function of the skin relies on the outermost layer, the stratum corneum (SC). Adding a mixture of chemicals to the SC has more significant effects than adding single components, increasing the mobility of skin lipids and proteins. This synergistic effect may have implications for the complex mixture of natural moisturizing factor (NMF) in dry conditions.
JOURNAL OF COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Pauline Bellot, Sophie Marie Dupont, Francois Brischoux, Helene Budzinski, Olivier Chastel, Clementine Fritsch, Olivier Lourdais, Louise Prouteau, Steffi Rocchi, Frederic Angelier
Summary: Triazole fungicides are widely used in agroecosystems and may have effects on non-target species. Our study showed that exposure to environmental concentrations of tebuconazole led to reduced resting metabolic rates in house sparrows, but did not affect their thermoregulatory metabolic rates. Additionally, exposed sparrows exhibited better body condition compared to controls after 7 months of exposure.
ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Ursula K. Beattie, Michelle C. Ysrael, Sarah E. Lok, L. Michael Romero
Summary: The study investigated whether chronic stress would accelerate the transition from phase II to phase III of fasting in animals. The results showed that despite weight loss and increased glucose mobilization, the transition did not occur, indicating that the wear-and-tear experienced by the birds was insufficient to induce a shift to phase III.
YALE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Fan Yi, Xiao-xiao Yang, Ru-ya Yang, Meng-meng Zhao, Yin-mao Dong, Li Li, Yi-fan He, Miao-miao Guo, Jing Li, Xiao-hui Zhang, Zhi Lu, Jie Gu, Jing-lin Bao, Hong Meng
Summary: This study used in vitro measurements to describe the skin barrier and skin tone characteristics of Chinese subjects. The results showed that geographical, environmental, and pollution conditions have an impact on facial skin health and appearance. Different cities had significant differences in facial skin characteristics, and environmental conditions and individual lifestyles also influenced facial skin status.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Biological
Melanie G. Kimball, Christine R. Lattin
Summary: This study investigates whether spatial neophobia is correlated with responses to novel object tests and found that time spent in a novel environment and time to first enter a novel environment are not correlated with an individual's average response to novel object tests, suggesting that these two tests may involve separate decision-making processes and functional circuits in the brain.
BEHAVIOURAL PROCESSES
(2023)