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336 results for “sparrow”
Data from: Anthelmintic drugs modulate the acute phase immune response but not the microbiota in wild Song Sparrows
<p>Co-infection with microparasites (e.g., bacteria) and macroparasites (e.g., helminths) is often the natural state for wild animals. Despite evidence that gut helminths can bias immune responses away from inflammatory processes, few field studies have examined the role that helminths, or their potential interactions with internal microbial communities, play in modulating immunity in free-living, wild birds. Here, we used anthelmintic drugs to treat wild Song Sparrows (<em>Melospiza melodia</em>) for helminth infections and measured markers of systemic inflammation (heterothermia and locomotor activity) in response to an immune challenge with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a cell wall component of gram-negative bacteria. Using birds from a population that previously showed high helminth prevalence, we monitored skin temperature and activity remotely using automated radio telemetry. We also collected cloacal swabs to determine whether drug treatment was associated with changes in the cloacal microbiota, and whether cloacal microbial community structure was associated with the severity of birds' immune responses. Because helminths can reduce the severity of inflammatory immune responses in other species, we predicted that in comparison with untreated control birds, anthelmintic-treated birds would be more lethargic and display higher fevers when challenged with LPS. Consistent with these predictions, anthelmintic-treated birds expressed higher fevers in response to immune challenge. However, all LPS-challenged birds decreased locomotor activity to a similar degree, regardless of anthelmintic treatment. Although several individual indicator bacterial taxa were strongly associated with anthelmintic treatment, this treatment did not alter overall bacterial alpha- and beta- diversity. Similarly, we did not find evidence that bacterial community diversity influenced the severity of immune responses to LPS. These results suggest that under field conditions, natural helminth infection can reduce the severity of songbirds' thermoregulatory responses (fever) during an immune challenge, without major impacts on internal microbial communities or behavioral responses to infection.</p>
Data from: Characterizing morphological (co)variation using structural equation models: body size, allometric relationships and evolvability in a house sparrow metapopulation
Body size plays a key role in the ecology and evolution of all organisms. Therefore, quantifying the sources of morphological (co)variation, dependent and independent of body size, is of key importance when trying to understand and predict responses to selection. We combine structural equation modeling with quantitative genetics analyses to study morphological (co)variation in a meta-population of house sparrows (Passer domesticus). As expected, we found evidence of a latent variable 'body size', causing genetic and environmental covariation between morphological traits. Estimates of conditional evolvability show that allometric relationships constrain the independent evolution of house sparrow morphology. We also found spatial differences in general body size and its allometric relationships. On islands where birds are more dispersive and mobile, individuals were smaller and had proportionally longer wings for their body size. While in islands where sparrows are more sedentary and nest in dense colonies, individuals were larger and had proportionally longer tarsi for their body size. We corroborated these results using simulations and show that our analyses produce unbiased allometric slope estimates. This study highlights that in the short term allometric relationships may constrain phenotypic evolution, but that in the long term selection pressures can also shape allometric relationships.
Data from: Foraging sparrows exhibit individual differences but not a syndrome when responding to multiple types of novelty
Differences between individuals in correlated responses across contexts have both functional and mechanistic implications. Such syndromes may have either beneficial or harmful consequences when novel changes in the environment occur. We used wild-caught house sparrows, Passer domesticus, to test in functionally relevant circumstances, whether neophobia (initial fear of novelty), habituation, and the learning of novel cues (discriminant learning) were linked by a common underlying mechanism or reflected separate processes. We repeatedly measured individual latencies to approach and also to feed from a familiar feeding site in three contexts: a baseline control for mild disturbance, in the presence of a novel object, and to a novel cue indicating hidden food. House sparrows on average exhibited neophobia, habituated to novel objects, and learned to associate new cues to a reward. We also found evidence for consistent individual differences in in both latencies within most contexts, but there was no evidence of individual differences in plasticity with repeated trials within either the novel object (habituation) or novel cue (learning) contexts. There was also little or no correlation between the two latencies within individuals within contexts. Individual differences in latencies to arrive at the food station exhibited strong correlations across contexts, but latencies to feed were weaker. These results suggest a personality trait that exists regardless of novelty, but no syndrome affecting reactions to different forms of novelty. House sparrows appear strongly plastic when responding to novel environments. Such plasticity is likely favored by the varied consequences of novelty across environments.
Data from: Behavioral response to song and genetic divergence in two subspecies of white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
Divergence in sexual signals may drive reproductive isolation between lineages, but behavioral barriers can weaken in contact zones. Here, we investigate the role of song as a behavioral and genetic barrier in a contact zone between two subspecies of white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys). We employed a reduced genomic dataset to assess population structure and infer the history underlying divergence, gene flow and hybridization. We also measured divergence in song and tested behavioral responses to song using playback experiments within and outside the contact zone. We found that the subspecies form distinct genetic clusters, and demographic inference supported a model of secondary contact. Song phenotype, particularly length of the first note (a whistle), was a significant predictor of genetic subspecies identity and genetic distance along the hybrid zone, suggesting a close link between song and genetic divergence in this system. Individuals from both parental and admixed localities responded significantly more strongly to their own song than to the other subspecies song, supporting song as a behavioral barrier. Putative parental and admixed individuals were not significantly different in their strength of discrimination between own and other songs; however, individuals from admixed localities tended to discriminate less strongly, and this difference in discrimination strength was explained by song dissimilarity as well as genetic distance. Therefore, we find that song acts as a reproductive isolating mechanism that is potentially weakening in a contact zone between the subspecies. Our findings also support the hypothesis that intra-specific song variation can reduce gene flow between populations.
Data from: Consequences of breeding system for body condition and survival throughout the annual cycle of tidal marsh sparrows
An individual's body condition and probability of survival can change throughout the annual cycle, based on the combined effects of many factors, including reproductive investment during breeding, colder temperatures during winter, and elevated risks during migration. We evaluated body condition and survival during breeding and non-breeding periods in two closely related species with notably different reproductive systems. Male and female saltmarsh sparrows (Ammodramus caudacutus) represent extremes in parental care: males perform none, leaving females to do everything from build nests to care for fledglings. In contrast, male and female seaside sparrows (A. maritimus) have bi-parental care and similar levels of reproductive investment, intermediate between male and female saltmarsh sparrows. Our results are consistent with the idea that females experience non-lethal effects of reproduction, and that differences between the breeding season and winter affect condition. In both species, females had lower scaled mass index (SMI) values than males during both breeding and non-breeding seasons, and female saltmarsh sparrows had lower SMI values than female seaside sparrows. Females carried more fat than males during the breeding season, and female, but not male, fat and muscle scores decreased over time, which is consistent with the adaptive mass hypothesis. In winter, all groups carried more fat and had higher muscle scores than when breeding, despite having lower SMI scores. Although we observed variation in body condition, within-season survival was uniformly high in both seasons, suggesting that sex, species, season, body size, and body condition have little impacts on within season survival. Comparisons with previously-published estimates of annual adult survival suggest that most mortality occurs during migration, even in these short-distance migrants. The importance of considering multiple aspects of body condition, multiple seasons, and difficult-to-monitor events, such as migration, should not be ignored when thinking about the events and processes that cumulatively determine population dynamics.
Data from: Costs of immunity and their role in the range expansion of the house sparrow in Kenya
There are at least two reasons to study traits that mediate successful range expansions. First, dispersers will found new populations and thus impact the distribution and evolution of species. Second, organisms moving into new areas will influence the fate of resident communities, directly competing with or indirectly affecting residents by spreading non-native or spilling-back native parasites. The success of invaders in new areas is likely mediated by a counterbalancing of costly traits. In new areas where threats are comparatively rare, individuals that grow rapidly and breed prolifically should be at an advantage. High investment in defenses should thus be disfavored. In the present study, we compared the energetic, nutritional and collateral damage costs of an inflammatory response among Kenyan house sparrow (Passer domesticus) populations of different ages, asking whether costs were related to traits of individuals from three different capture sites. Kenya is among the world's most recent range expansions for this species, and we recently found that the expression of Toll-like receptors (TLRs), leukocyte receptors that instigate inflammatory responses when bound to microbial elements, was related to the range expansion across the country. Here, we found (contrary to our expectations) that energetic and nutritional costs of inflammation were higher, but damage costs were lower, in range-edge compared with core birds. Moreover, at the individual level, TLR-4 expression was negatively related to commodity costs (energy and a critical amino acid) of inflammation. Our data thus suggest that costs of inflammation, perhaps mediated by TLR expression, might mitigate successful range expansions.
Divorce and extra-pair paternity in the Lundy house sparrows
<p>The question of why socially monogamous females engage in extra-pair behaviour is long-standing in evolutionary biology. Due to a lack of empirical support among passerine birds, recent work has moved away from the indirect-benefits hypothesis to explain extra-pair mating behaviour by females, instead favouring the hypothesis that this is the result of a pleiotropic effect. That is, <span>a trait under strong positive selection in either or both sexes are genetically linked with another, potentially unrelated, trait. For example, genes beneficial to female fecundity (that promote within-pair solicitation of mating from a male partner) might also lead to extra-pair behaviour (by also promoting solicited copulations from extra-pair males). </span>Here, we test two predictions from this hypothesis: We test the prediction that female divorce, measured as the number of social mates within a given year, is linked with (1) the number of extra-pair males engaged by the female and (2) the proportion of the female's offspring that are extra-pair. Our results show that females who divorce their social partner are more likely to produce extra-pair offspring than those who maintain social monogamy, supporting the pleiotropy hypothesis. However, those females did not also have a higher proportion of extra-pair offspring. The number of broods initiated was also positively correlated with the number of extra-pair males that sired a female's offspring, probably through increased opportunity for extra-pair males to sire offspring over a longer breeding season. Our results support the intrasexual pleiotropy hypothesis as a driver of female extra-pair behaviour.</p>
Total H3 acetylation in house sparrows
<p class="MsoNormal">Epigenetic mechanisms are increasingly understood to have major impacts across ecology. However, one molecular epigenetic mechanism, DNA methylation, currently dominates the literature. A second mechanism, histone modification, is likely important to ecologically relevant phenotypes and thus warrants investigation, especially because molecular interplay between methylation and histone acetylation can strongly affect gene expression. There are a limited number of histone acetylation studies on non-model organisms, yet those that exist show that it can impact gene expression and phenotypic plasticity. Wild birds provide an excellent system to investigate histone acetylation, as free-living individuals must rapidly adjust to environmental change. Here, we screen histone acetylation in the house sparrow (<em>Passer domesticus</em>); we studied this species because DNA methylation was important in the spread of this bird globally. This species has one of the broadest geographic distributions in the world, and part of this success is related to the way that it uses methylation to its gene expression. Here, we verify that a commercially available assay that was developed for mammals can be used in house sparrows. We detected high variance in histone acetylation among individuals in both liver and spleen tissue. Further, house sparrows with higher epigenetic potential in the <em>TLR-4</em> promoter (i.e., CpG content) had higher histone acetylation in liver. Also, there was a negative correlation between histone acetylation in spleen and <em>TLR-4 </em>expression. In addition to validating a method for measuring histone acetylation in wild songbirds, this study also shows that histone acetylation varies in an ecologically relevant way, adding a new study option for ecological epigenetics.</p>
Data from: high repeat content in the genomes of sparrows: the importance of genome assembly completeness for transposable element discovery
<p>Transposable elements (TE) play critical roles in shaping genome evolution. However, the highly repetitive sequence content of TEs is a major source of assembly gaps. This makes it difficult to decipher the impact of these elements on the dynamics of genome evolution. The increased capacity of long-read sequencing technologies to span highly repetitive regions of the genome should provide novel insights into patterns of TE diversity. Here we report the generation of highly contiguous reference genomes using PacBio long read and Omni-C technologies for three species of sparrows in the family Passerellidae. To assess the influence of sequencing technology on TE annotation, we compared these assemblies to three chromosome-level sparrow assemblies recently generated by the Vertebrate Genomes Project and nine other sparrow species generated using a variety of short- and long-read technologies. All long-read based assemblies were longer in length (range: 1.12-1.41 Gb) than short-read assemblies (0.91-1.08 Gb). Assembly length was strongly correlated with the amount of repeat content, with longer genomes showing much higher levels of repeat content than typically reported for the avian order Passeriformes. Repeat content for the Bell's sparrow (31.2% of genome) was the highest level reported to date for a songbird genome assembly and was more in line with woodpecker (order Piciformes) genomes. CR1 LINE elements retained from an expansion that occurred 25-30 million years ago were the most abundant TEs in the song sparrow genome. Although the other five sparrow species also exhibit evidence for a spike in CR1 LINE activity at 25-30 million years ago, LTR elements stemming from more recent expansions were the most abundant elements in these species. LTRs were uniquely abundant in the Bell's sparrow genome deriving from two recent peaks of activity. Higher levels of repeat content (79.2-93.7%) were found on the W chromosome relative to the Z (20.7-26.5) or autosomes (16.1-30.9%). These patterns support a dynamic model of transposable element expansion and contraction underpinning the seemingly constrained and small sized genomes of birds. Our work highlights how the resolution of difficult-to-assemble regions of the genome with new sequencing technologies promises to transform our understanding of avian genome evolution.</p>
Determinants of spring migration departure dates in a New World sparrow: weather variables reign supreme
<p><span>Numerous factors influence the timing of spring migration in birds, yet the relative importance of intrinsic and extrinsic variables on migration initiation remains unclear. To test for interactions among weather, migration distance, parasitism, and physiology in determining spring departure date, we used the Dark-eyed Junco (<em>Junco</em> <em>hyemalis</em>) as a model migratory species known to harbor diverse and common haemosporidian parasites. Prior to spring migration departure from their wintering grounds in Indiana, USA, we quantified the intrinsic variables of fat, body condition (i.e., mass~tarsus residuals), physiological stress (i.e., ratio of heterophils to lymphocytes), cellular immunity (i.e., leukocyte composition and total count), migration distance (i.e., distance to the breeding grounds) using stable isotopes of hydrogen from feathers, and haemosporidian parasite intensity. We then attached nanotags to determine the timing of spring migration departure date using the Motus Wildlife Tracking System. We used additive Cox proportional hazard mixed models to test how risk of spring migratory departure was predicted by the combined intrinsic measures, along with meteorological predictors on the evening of departure (i.e., average wind speed and direction, relative humidity, and temperature). Model comparisons found that the best predictor of spring departure date was average nightly wind direction and a principal component combining relative humidity and temperature. Juncos were more likely to depart for spring migration on nights with largely southwestern winds and on warmer and drier evenings (relative to cooler and more humid evenings). Our results indicate that weather conditions at take-off are more critical to departure decisions than the measured physiological and parasitism variables.</span></p>
Natural and anthropogenic noise increase vigilance and decrease foraging behaviors in song sparrows
<p>Animals glean information about risk from their habitat. The acoustic environment is one such source of information, and is an important, yet understudied ecological axis. Although anthropogenic noise has become recently ubiquitous, risk mitigation behaviors have likely been shaped by natural noise over millennia. Listening animals have been shown to increase vigilance and decrease foraging in both natural and anthropogenic noise. However, direct comparisons could be informative to conservation and understanding evolutionary drivers of behavior in noise. Here, we used 27 song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) and 148 laboratory behavioral trials to assess foraging and vigilance behavior in both anthropogenic and natural noise sources. Using 5 acoustic environments (playbacks of roadway traffic, a white-water river, a white-water river shifted upwards in frequency, a river with the amplitude modulation of roadway traffic, and an ambient control), we attempt to parse out the acoustic characteristics that make a foraging habitat risky. We found that sparrows increased vigilance or decreased foraging in 4 of 6 behaviors when foraging in higher sound levels regardless of the noise source or variation in frequency and amplitude modulation. These responses may help explain previously-reported declines in abundance of song sparrows exposed to playback of intense river noise. Our results imply that natural soundscapes have likely shaped behavior long before anthropogenic noise, and that high sound levels negatively affect the foraging-vigilance trade-off in most intense acoustic environments. Given the ever-increasing footprint of noise pollution, these results imply potential negative consequences for bird populations. </p>
Natural history and community science records confirm rapid geographic shifts in the distribution of Bachman's Sparrow (Peucaea aestivalis) since 1850
<p>North American grassland birds colonized emerging habitat created by expanding agriculture in a pattern of eastward expansions from the mid-1800s to mid-1900s. These birds have been declining, since at least the mid1900s, largely as result of anthropogenic landscape change. Only one bird that now breeds predominantly in southeastern pine savannas is thought to have experienced a concurrent range expansion into this region: <em>Peucaea aestivalis </em>(Bachman's Sparrow). However, our understanding of the <em>P. aestivalis</em> expansion, and subsequent retraction to the southeastern United States, is largely based on a contemporaneous review of only a subset of historical records from beyond its modern, northern limit. We suggest an alternative explanation for these historical records is that <em>P. aestivalis</em> historically occurred more broadly than was recognized in contemporaneous literature. To evaluate these hypotheses, we reviewed field observations from literature, natural history collections, and eBird to show how <em>P. aestivalis </em>presence throughout eastern North America has shifted since the mid-1800s. To confirm that these findings were not the result of detection bias, we repeated our analysis on a common sparrow species (<em>Spizella pusilla</em>) with a largely overlapping breeding range, but no history of expansion and retraction. We confirm that <em>P. aestivalis</em> expanded its range, but add that prior to that expansion, its historical distribution was broader than commonly acknowledged today. As a result, we identify the northwestern historical limit of <em>P. aestivalis</em>, the Ouachita and Ozark highlands, as a potential source region for an eastward expansion that is consistent with those of other North American grassland birds of the era. We discuss the potential evolutionary and conservation implications of this range expansion on <em>P. aestivalis</em> given our more nuanced understanding of it. Anthropogenic landscape change initially provided additional habitat for <em>P. aestivalis</em> but has ultimately resulted in a reduction of the <em>P. aestivalis</em> distribution.</p>
Seaside Sparrow nest location, fate, and nest predator distribution data
<p>Nest failure for coastal marsh bird species is primarily caused by predation and nest flooding. As sea level rise makes nest flooding more likely, the threat of nest predation will constrain the potential adaptive responses of marsh nesting species. Thus, understanding the predictors of nest predation is important for the conservation of salt marsh-dwelling bird species, such as Seaside Sparrows (<em>Ammospiza maritima</em>; SESP). Predator activity may be influenced by landscape features (particularly habitat edges), potentially making nest predation predictable. We aimed to understand the predictability of SESP nest predation relative to two major landscape features: roads and tidal rivers, as both of these edges may be entryways or attractants for predators in marshes. In coastal Georgia, USA, we assessed mammalian predator activity relative to the two features of interest, and hypothesized that mammalian predator activity would be greater close to roads and tidal rivers. We also recorded SESP nest locations and nest predation events and hypothesized that nest predation events would increase with increasing predator activity. Consistent with our first hypothesis, mammalian predator activity increased close to roads and tidal rivers, but mammalian predator distribution did not explain the spatial variation in SESP nest predation thus not supporting our second hypothesis. SESP also placed their nests in locations with high mammalian predator activity, indicating that the ability to avoid nesting in high-risk areas may be constrained by habitat or resource limitations. Additionally, mammals may not be the primary nest predators, as we found that one bird species (Marsh Wren, <em>Cistothorus palustris</em>) contributed substantially to nest predation rates. Understanding the predictability of mammalian predator distribution can allow for focused predator management efforts, such as exclusion, to habitat edges where we found the highest mammalian predator activity, which could relax the constraint of nest predation on SESP's ability to respond to the intensifying threat of sea level rise.</p>
Data from: Passive acoustic monitoring provides reliable under-estimates of population size and longevity in wild Savannah Sparrows
<p>Many breeding birds produce conspicuous sounds, providing tremendous opportunities to study free-living birds through acoustic recordings. Traditional methods for studying population size and demographic features depend on labour-intensive field research. Passive acoustic monitoring provides an alternative method for quantifying population size and demographic parameters, but this approach requires careful validation. To determine the accuracy of passive acoustic monitoring for estimating population size and demographic parameters, we used autonomous recorders to sample an island-living population of Savannah Sparrows (<em>Passerculus sandwichensis</em>) over a six-year period. Using the individually distinctive songs of males, we estimated male population size as the number of unique songs detected in the recordings. We analyzed songs across six years to estimate birth year, death year, and longevity. We then compared the estimates to field data in a blind analysis. Estimates of male population size through passive acoustic monitoring were, on average, 72% of the true male population size, with higher accuracy in lower-density years. Estimates of demographic rates were lower than true values by 29% for birth year, 23% for death year, and 29% for longevity. This is the first investigation to estimate longevity with passive acoustic monitoring, and adds to a growing number of studies that have used passive acoustic monitoring to estimate population size. Although passive acoustic monitoring under-estimated true population parametersfeatures, likely due to the high similarity among many male songs, our findings suggest that autonomous recorders can provide reliable estimates of population size and demographic characteristicslongevity in a wild songbird.</p>
Cross-generational stressors affect telomeres and survival in house sparrows
<p>Parental stress often has long-term consequences for offspring. However, the mechanisms underlying these effects and how they are shaped by conditions offspring subsequently experience are poorly understood. Telomeres, which often shorten in response to stress and predict longevity, may contribute to, and/or reflect these cross-generational effects. Traditionally, parental stress is expected to have negative effects on offspring telomeres, but experimental studies in captive animals suggest that these effects may depend on the subsequent conditions that offspring experience. Yet, the degree to which parental stress influences and interacts with stress experienced by offspring to affect offspring telomeres and survival in free-living organisms is unknown. To assess this, we experimentally manipulated the stress exposure of free-living parent and offspring house sparrows (<em>Passer domesticus</em>). We found a weak, initial, negative effect of parental stress on offspring telomeres, but this effect was no longer evident at the end of post-natal development. Instead, the effects of parental stress depended on the natural sources of stress that offspring experienced during post-natal development whereby some outcomes were improved under more stressful rearing conditions. Thus, the effects of parental stress on offspring telomeres and survival are context-dependent and may involve compensatory mechanisms of potential benefit under some circumstances.</p>
Song and genetic divergence within a subspecies of white-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys nuttalli)
<p><span>Animal culture evolves alongside </span><span>genomes</span><span>, and</span><span> the two modes of inheritance—culture and genes—interact in myriad ways.</span> <span>For example,</span><span> stable geographic variation </span><span>in culture can act as </span><span>a </span><span>reproductive barrier</span><span>, </span><span>thereby producing genetic divergence</span><span> between "cultural populations</span><span>.</span><span>"</span> <span>White-crowned sparrows (</span><span>Zonotrichia</span> <span>leucophrys</span><span>) are a </span><span>well-established</span><span> model species for bird song</span><span> learning</span><span> and cultural evolution</span><span>, as t</span><span>hey </span><span>have </span><span>distinct</span><span>, </span><span>geographically </span><span>discrete</span><span>, and culturally transmitted</span> <span>song </span><span>types</span><span> (i.e., song dialects)</span><span>. </span><span>In this study, we tested </span><span>the hypothesis that</span> <span>divergence between </span><span>culturally transmitted </span><span>songs </span><span>drive</span><span>s</span> <span>genetic divergence</span> <span>with</span><span>in Nuttall's white-crowned sparrows (</span><span>Z. l. </span><span>nuttalli</span><span>).</span><span> In accordance with sexual selection theory, we hypothesized that cultural divergence between mating signals both preceded and generated genetic divergence.</span><span>We characterized the population structure and song variation in the subspecies and found two </span><span>genetic</span><span>ally differentiated</span> <span>populations </span><span>whose</span><span> boundary</span> <span>coincid</span><span>es</span><span> with a major </span><span>song </span><span>boundary</span><span> at Monterey Bay</span><span>, California</span><span>.</span> <span>We then</span><span> conducted a song playback experiment </span><span>that </span><span>demonstrated males discriminate between songs based on their degree of divergence from the</span><span>ir</span><span> local dialect</span><span>. These results</span> <span>support</span><span> the idea that discrimination against non-local songs</span><span> is driving genetic divergence between the northern and southern populations. </span><span>Altogether, t</span><span>his</span><span> study</span><span> provides evidence that</span><span> cultura</span><span>lly transmitted bird songs can act as the foundation for speciation by sexual selection</span><span>.</span></p>
Positive correlation between Ammospiza caudacuta (Saltmarsh Sparrow) capture and productivity supports use of a novel rapid assessment monitoring protocol
<p>Salt marshes in the northeastern United States provide critical breeding habitat for tidal marsh specialist birds like the Saltmarsh Sparrow (Ammospiza caudacuta). The Saltmarsh Sparrow population has declined by nine percent annually, necessitating immediate conservation actions for this vulnerable species. However, estimating species vital rates across a large geographic region is logistically challenging and cost prohibitive. Therefore, we developed and tested a rapid assessment monitoring protocol focused on reproductive metrics to enhance future conservation planning.</p> <p>We used three years of intensive demographic data from 12 sites to estimate daily nest survival, nest period success, fledglings produced per female, and successful broods per female. We implemented the rapid assessment protocol co-located at intensive sites in the same years to estimate the number of captured females and juveniles. We used Pearson's correlation analyses to determine the association of intensive metrics with rapid metrics. We found that the sum of Saltmarsh Sparrow female and juvenile captures was positively correlated with daily nest survival, nest period success, fledglings produced per female, and successful broods per female. Our results demonstrate that fixed-effort mist-netting from our rapid assessment protocol is an informative and time-efficient sampling method that can aid in making informed management decisions related to Saltmarsh Sparrow conservation.</p>
Relationship between Channel Island Melospiza melodia (Song Sparrow) bill size and vegetation, seed extraction time, bite force, and climate (2014-2016)
<p>Inferring the environmental selection pressures responsible for phenotypic variation is a challenge in adaptation studies as traits often have multiple functions and are shaped by complex selection regimes. We provide indirect evidence that morphology of the multifunctional avian bill is primarily shaped by climate and thermoregulatory ability in <em>Melospiza melodia</em> (Song Sparrows) on the California Channel Islands. Our research builds on a study in Song Sparrow museum specimens that demonstrated a positive correlation between bill surface area and maximum temperature, suggesting a greater demand for dry heat dissipation in hotter, xeric environments. We sampled contemporary sparrow populations across three climatically distinct islands to test the hypotheses that bill morphology is influenced by habitat differences with functional consequences for foraging efficiency and is related to maximum temperature and, consequently, important for thermoregulation. Measurements of >500 live individuals indicated a significant, positive relationship between maximum temperature and bill surface area when correcting for body size. In contrast, maximum bite force, seed extraction time, and vegetation on breeding territories (a proxy for food resources) were not significantly associated with bill dimensions. While we cannot exclude the influence of foraging ability and diet on bill morphology, our results are consistent with the hypothesis that variation in Song Sparrows' need for thermoregulatory capacity across the northern Channel Islands selects for divergence in bill surface area.</p>
Fig. 2 in Repeatability Analysis Of Egg Shape In A Wild Tree Sparrow (Passer Montanus) Population: A Sensitive Method For Egg Shape Description
Fig. 2. Data collecting method results in 22 co-ordinates of each eggs
Fig. 1 in Repeatability Analysis Of Egg Shape In A Wild Tree Sparrow (Passer Montanus) Population: A Sensitive Method For Egg Shape Description
Fig. 1. Differently shaped eggs characterised with the same egg shape index (ES = 0.7)
ScienceDex guides
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These curated guides explain access requirements, typical timelines, costs, and reuse considerations for widely used research datasets.
Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.