Data was collected through a citizen science project whereby trained volunteers catch, measure and band birds in their backyard twice a month using mist nets. Captured birds were aged and sexed based on plumage characteristics, and morphometric measurements were taken, including body weight, wing length and fat score. Two gradients of urbanisation were defined: the distance to the city border and the percentage impervious surface, which were calculated within a 200m radius for each of the >200 catch locations using GIS. Survival was analysed using capture-recapture models, accounting for variation in recapture probability. Our results show that survival responses to urbanisation varied among species, with four species showing higher survival in more urbanised areas and one species showing lower survival. In addition, we examined whether there were any non-lethal effects of urbanisation by examining body mass and size. Since urbanisation might affect mass and size, whereas at the same time larger individuals are also expected to be heavier, structural equation models were used allowing for the simultaneous estimation of effects of urbanization on mass and size. Results showed that most species had relatively lower body weight in more urban areas, whereas size did not vary with the degree of urbanization. These results were presented at an international ecology conference and a paper detailing these results is in preparation.
Further examination of the effect of urbanization on various biometry measurements showed that particularly more social species (house sparrows) show consistent associations with urbanization, with urban individuals being smaller, leaner and having lower body fat, suggesting lower competition in urban areas (BSc thesis). Current work aims to disentangle what aspect (i.e. buildings, roads or distance to city edge) of urbanization is the most important driver of variation in biometry (BSc thesis).
The effect of urbanization on social behavior was examined by conducting behavioural observations on house sparrows (Passer domesticus) at feeding tables in urban and rural areas. This work was implemented within the BSc course in Animal Ecology, whereby students learned how to specify and collect behavioural data in the field. Preliminary results show that urban house sparrows are less efficient foragers, as they spent more time scanning their surroundings when on a feeding table. This work will be continued in further projects.
The Fellow was able to improve her teaching and supervision skills and gain valuable experience in course coordination. Following the Action, the Fellow has obtained a tenure track position at the host institute allowing her to further develop her own research group.
