Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach...
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![Page 1: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Reproductive success of house sparrows along anurban gradient
Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)
![Page 2: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
• Methodology
• Fieldwork
• Key results
• Summary of findings
![Page 3: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Study City - Leicester
City in the middle of England
Population approx 285, 000
10th largest city in England
![Page 4: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
![Page 5: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Methodology
• Productivity along urban gradient
(nest boxes; urban/suburban/rural)
• Investigate diet and invertebrate abundance
• Used local pollution data
![Page 6: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
Fieldwork
• 9 study sites (nest boxes/surveys)
![Page 7: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Fieldwork
• Nestboxes used = 100 [500+ chicks ringed]
• Monthly foraging observations in 44 locations – to establish habitat use
![Page 8: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Fieldwork
• Habitat mapping around used boxes
• Aphid abundance in home ranges
• Over-winter survival – colour-ringed adult birds
![Page 9: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Biometrics/Nesting success
• Weight • Tarsus length• Fat score • Muscle score• Faecal samples (400+) • Colour ringing
![Page 10: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
Foraging Observations
• Does foraging change across season/area type?
• Initial visit recorded habitat type
• Made monthly visits to 44 transects
• Recorded no. of adults/juveniles and habitat
![Page 11: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Habitat Mapping
• Compare habitat around all used boxes
• Used 13 habitat category system
• Took radius of 70m around each nest (80-100 gardens in suburbia)
![Page 12: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Aphid abundance
• 0-50m & 50-100m from box
• selected 20 shrubs, 20 trees, 15 veg, 30 flowers
• scoring 0 to 3 (none to infested)
![Page 13: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
Key Results
• Productivity/nesting success
• Diet of nestlings
• Chick condition
![Page 14: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
Diet composition (175 samples from 2001, 2002 & 2003)
Others5%
Larvae 5%
Flies14%
Spiders11%
Ants8%
Hymenoptera2%
Aphids35%
Beetles20%
Thanks to Del Gruar for helping analyse samples
![Page 15: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
Nestling Diet
• Spiders, Aphids, Diptera & Beetles = 80% of all remains
• Beetles & Diptera prominent in April/May
• Aphids most prominent in June
• Ants most prominent in July/August
![Page 16: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
Nestling Diet
• Aphids - urban>suburban>rural broods
• Diptera - rural>suburban>urban broods
ants in broods that died plant material during July/August
& in broods that died
![Page 17: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
Productivity/nesting success
• No. fledged late summer No. fledged in home ranges with
grass/deciduous shrubs/trees & concrete.
No. fledged from broods fed a plant-dominated diet
• High rate of chick starvation in June/July
![Page 18: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
0
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.05
0.06
0.07
0.08
0.09
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1proportion of plant material in diet
pre
dic
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ily w
ho
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est
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ate
2002 2003
= 70% : 14 day chick period I
I
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= 20% : 14 day chick period
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![Page 19: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
Brood survival
Suburban nests = 75% (whole nest period) Rural nests = 78%• All habitats BTO (2002) = 96.5%• Lack of food causing complete or partial brood
failure– inadequate provision of food poor quality
habitat – provision of unsuitable food nutritional
deficiency/starvation
![Page 20: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
Productivity
• Mean no. fledged per attempt– suburban = 1.98 BTO = 2.6– rural = 2.37 BTO = 2.9
• Seasonal Productivity– 4.21 young per year (suburban)– 4.67 young per year (rural)– Oxford 1990s study = 5.68
• productivity in this study is low due to high complete/partial brood failures
![Page 21: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
Chick condition
• chicks fed beetle had higher body condition indices
grass, deciduous shrubs & trees, concrete = brood biomass invert availability is sensitive to the habitat quality
around nest
NO2 levels = brood mass at fledging
post-fledging survival– fledging in polluted areas = survival disadvantage
![Page 22: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
Mean brood body mass at fledging against nitrogen dioxide in 2002 and 2003
![Page 23: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
Relative abundance of aphids within 100m of nests during June and July 2003.
Aphid scores are grouped into four reflecting low (0) to high (3) relative abundance
![Page 24: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/24.jpg)
Summary
• No. fledging & brood biomass in home ranges with grass/deciduous shrubs/trees suggests invertebrate availability sensitive to habitat quality
fledged from broods fed a plant-dominated diet evidence linking vegetable dominated diet with complete brood failures
chick starvation during June/July not been reported before
NO2 levels = lower brood mass at fledging
![Page 25: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/25.jpg)
Conclusions
• nestling survival rate & no. young fledging are low
• links between;– poor habitat quality/insect availability/nestling
diet/brood condition
• indicates direct effect of food limitation during the breeding season
causing productivity in suburbia
![Page 26: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/26.jpg)
Conclusions
productivity demographic mechanism causing decline
demographic model - test if productivity levels are low enough to cause declines
incorporated suburban & rural productivity levels and known survival rates (adult, first-year, post-fledge)
showed suburban productivity is low enough to cause 10% decline p.a
![Page 27: Reproductive success of house sparrows along an urban gradient Kate Vincent (BSG), Will Peach (RSPB), Jim Fowler (DMU) & Phil Grice (NE)](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062322/56649ee85503460f94bfa4c8/html5/thumbnails/27.jpg)
A BIG THANKYOU TO • RSPB, EN & DMU • Dr Will Peach & Dr Jim Fowler• Derek Gruar (RSPB)• Phil Grice (EN)• All RSPB research assistants • CJ Wildbird Foods (nestboxes)• Householders that have nestboxes • Denis Summers-Smith• Ken Goodrich & LROS• Leicester City Council
• My website: www.katevincent.org