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Background The influence of vegetative changes due to livestock grazing on grassland birds is well-recognized because these birds are heavily influenced by vegetative structure. Traditionally, species distribution models (SDMs) use direct variables, resources that the animal consumes or requires to persist in an area (e.g., water) to define and project a species’ niche and distribution. Indirect variables, which are features the animal does not consume or require for persistence but with which it may still interact, are often excluded. Our objective was to improve the traditional SDMs projecting the distribution of three summer resident South Texas grassland birds (Northern Bobwhite Colinus virginianus, Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna, and Cassin’s Sparrow Peucaea cassinii) by incorporating livestock grazing pressure, an indirect variable, into five SDM algorithms: BioClim, generalized linear model, MaxEnt, boosted regression tree, and random forest. We collected data from the Coloraditas Grazing Research and Demonstration Area (CGRDA), a 7684-ha area located on the San Antonio Viejo Ranch (SAV) in South Texas. We used several relevant environmental characteristics to build SDMs and compared model performance (AUC and TSS) with and without grazing pressure as an indirect variable. Results Machine learning models (MaxEnt and random forest) had the highest predictive performance for all species, with random forest being the most consistent for each analysis. BioClim and generalized linear model remained constant or only marginally improved with the addition of the grazing pressure. Conclusions Our findings suggest that model selection for SDM should include consideration of species prevalence, and machine-learning algorithms should be preferred when the target species is of low or unknown prevalence. Further, livestock grazing has measurable influence on grassland bird species’ distributions and should be included in SDMs as an indirect variable in addition to associated vegetative changes.

Introduction. Oirat folklore traditions include typologically different tales that remain vastly understudied. Folklore materials of Xinjiang Oirats used to be printed in Clear Script type up to the late 1980s, but currently those are primarily published in Classical Mongolian, which makes it difficult for Russian folklorists to study them. So, the paper attempts an insight into one folklore genre of Xinjiang Oirats — animal tales. Goals. The article classifies animal tales of XUAR-based Oirats (China) in accordance with the universally accepted comparative approach. Materials. The work examines The White-Collared Sparrow (Betege caγān boqširγo) animal tale collection issued by Xinjiang People’s Publishing House in 1981. Results. The study identifies 24 (of 31) plots in standard world classification systems of folklore and mythological motifs, while 7 samples prove essentially local. Some plots are referred to as etiological myths.

The House Sparrow Passer domesticus is recognised as one of the commonest avian invasive species globally, with its occurrence associated with human existence. However, relatively little on populat...

Grassland bird populations are declining faster than any other avian guild in North America, and promotion of favorable habitat conditions in rangeland breeding cores is important for their maintenance. There is much information on associations between breeding grassland songbirds and vegetation attributes. However, previous results have been difficult to translate into management practices due to mismatch between the scale and metrics used in biological sampling and those used in management. Here, we evaluate the response of imperiled grassland bird species to vegetation conditions using metrics and scales accessible to managers. We focus on four species that are experiencing particularly severe population declines: Baird's sparrow (Centronyx bairdii), chestnut-collared longspur (Calcarius ornatus), McCown's longspur (Rynchophanes mccownii), and Sprague's pipit (Anthus spragueii). In 2017 and 2018, we evaluated the abundances of these species within their core distributions in northern Montana. We used temporally replicated point-counts and hierarchical models to estimate abundance and associations with plot-level (9-ha) vegetation conditions while accounting for spatially and temporally variable detectability. Exotic grass encroachment and shrub cover had negative or neutral effects on all species. Birds responded strongly to biomass at this scale, with chestnut-collared longspurs and Sprague's pipit preferring a range of 1 100 kg ha−1 to 1 400 kg ha−1, and McCown's longspurs selecting for the lowest available. Residual grass and litter cover were important for Baird's sparrows. Variable results among species emphasize the need for heterogeneity in vegetation structure and composition at scales larger than the plot. Our results provide guidance for managers interested in improving habitat for these species.

A total of 30 specimens of house sparrow Passer domesticus biblicus Hartert, 1904 (15 females and 15 males) were collected from gardens of some houses in Baghdad city; all birds were dissected to identify the parasites in vesicle, gizzard, intestine, gall bladder and caecum. One species of trematodes Brachydistomum microscelis (Yamaguti, 1933) was found in the gall bladder and two species of cestodes Anonchotaenia globata (von Linstow, 1879) and Raillietina tetragona (Molin, 1858) were found in the small intestine of house sparrow. Morphologic and morphometric measurements were considered. The genus Brachydistomum Travassos, 1944 is being recorded for the first time in Iraq in the gall bladder of house sparrow, as it was not previously recorded from birds in Iraq.

Synopsis Epigenetic potential, defined as the capacity for epigenetically-mediated phenotypic plasticity, may play an important role during range expansions. During range expansions, populations may encounter relatively novel challenges while experiencing lower genetic diversity. Phenotypic plasticity via epigenetic potential might be selectively advantageous at the time of initial introduction or during spread into new areas, enabling introduced organisms to cope rapidly with novel challenges. Here, we asked whether one form of epigenetic potential (i.e., the abundance of CpG sites) in three microbial surveillance genes: Toll-like receptors (TLRs) 1B (TLR1B), 2A (TLR2A), and 4 (TLR4) varied between native and introduced house sparrows (Passer domesticus). Using an opportunistic approach based on samples collected from sparrow populations around the world, we found that introduced birds had more CpG sites in TLR2A and TLR4, but not TLR1B, than native ones. Introduced birds also lost more CpG sites in TLR1B, gained more CpG sites in TLR2A, and lost fewer CpG sites in TLR4 compared to native birds. These results were not driven by differences in genetic diversity or population genetic structure, and many CpG sites fell within predicted transcription factor binding sites (TFBS), with losses and gains of CpG sites altering predicted TFBS. Although we lacked statistical power to conduct the most rigorous possible analyses, these results suggest that epigenetic potential may play a role in house sparrow range expansions, but additional work will be critical to elucidating how epigenetic potential affects gene expression and hence phenotypic plasticity at the individual, population, and species levels.

The song sparrow, Melospiza melodia, is one of the most widely distributed species of songbirds found in North America. It has been used in a wide range of behavioral and ecological studies. This species’ pronounced morphological and behavioral diversity across populations makes it a favorable candidate in several areas of biomedical research. We have generated a high-quality de novo genome assembly of M. melodia using Illumina short read sequences from genomic and in vitro proximity-ligation libraries. The assembled genome is 978.3 Mb, with a coverage of 24.9×, N50 scaffold size of 5.6 Mb and N50 contig size of 31.7 Kb. Genes within our genome assembly are largely complete, with 87.5% full-length genes present out of a set of 4,915 universal single-copy orthologs present in most avian genomes. We annotated our genome assembly and constructed 15,086 gene models, a majority of which have high homology to related birds, Taeniopygia guttata and Junco hyemalis. In total, 83% of the annotated genes are assigned with putative functions. Furthermore, only ~7% of the genome is found to be repetitive; these regions and other non-coding functional regions are also identified. The high-quality M. melodia genome assembly and annotations we report will serve as a valuable resource for facilitating studies on genome structure and evolution that can contribute to biomedical research and serve as a reference in population genomic and comparative genomic studies of closely related species.

Hybridization can result in novel allelic combinations which can impact the hybrid phenotype through changes in gene expression. While mis-expression in F1 hybrids is well documented, how gene expression evolves in stabilized hybrid taxa remains an open question. As gene expression evolves in a stabilizing manner, break-up of co-evolved cis- and trans-regulatory elements could lead to transgressive patterns of gene expression in hybrids. Here, we address to what extent gonad gene expression has evolved in an established and stable homoploid hybrid, the Italian sparrow (Passer italiae). Through comparison of gene expression in gonads from individuals of the two parental species (i.e., house and Spanish sparrow) to that of Italian sparrows, we find evidence for strongly transgressive expression in male Italian sparrows - 22% of testis genes exhibit expression patterns outside the range of both parent species. In contrast, Italian sparrow ovary expression was similar to that of one of the parent species, the house sparrow (Passer domesticus). Moreover, the Italian sparrow testis transcriptome is 26 times as diverged from those of the parent species as the parental transcriptomes are from each other, despite being genetically intermediate. This highlights the potential for regulation of gene expression to produce novel variation following hybridization. Genes involved in mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes and protein synthesis are enriched in the subset that is over-dominantly expressed in Italian sparrow testis, suggesting that selection on key functions have molded the hybrid Italian sparrow transcriptome.

The phenomenon of albinism is repeated several times in sparrows, where as of December 8, 2018, a case of a male sparrow was observed in the region of Metlili (Ghardaïa - Central Algeria), with a remarkably whitish color. A previous three (03) cases of total albinism in young males were observed in in Bir Khadem - Algiers in June 2007.

To achieve a sustainable conservation or adaptation strategy, it is necessary to understand the impacts of habitat and weather on particular species. Hence the study was focused to analyze the parameters that influence the population of house sparrow in various locations of Madurai Dist. Furthermore, its present and future suitable habitats have been predicted using computational tools. Statistical analysis and correlation were performed with data gathered through random sampling. Using correlation analysis, the association between various parameters was studied. Hierarchical clustering of data was performed by a Kendall Correlation coefficient to identify the suitable habitat and weather. Subsequently the Selection of the major parameters of a study was determined using Principal Component Analysis approach. The study highlights the significance of utilizing data mining and computational analysis to precisely understand the influence of various geographical parameters on the distribution and survival of the house sparrow population in an area. Based on the results obtained, abundance and distribution of house sparrow were closely related to the area of habitat in which house sparrows were found. The preference of particular habitat can be briefly explained using Kendall Correlation Matrix and cluster analysis. Using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) technique, the population density of the house sparrow was studied. Taking these computational analyses into account will provide a new perspective on predicting the species distribution in the specific area thereby conserving it.

For the traditional ensemble learning algorithm of software defect prediction, the base predictor exists the problem that too many parameters are difficult to optimize, resulting in the optimized performance of the model unable to be obtained. An ensemble learning algorithm for software defect prediction that is proposed by using the improved sparrow search algorithm to optimize the extreme learning machine, which divided into three parts. Firstly, the improved sparrow search algorithm (ISSA) is proposed to improve the optimization ability and convergence speed, and the performance of the improved sparrow search algorithm is tested by using eight benchmark test functions. Secondly, ISSA is used to optimize extreme learning machine (ISSA-ELM) to improve the prediction ability. Finally, the optimized ensemble learning algorithm (ISSA-ELM-Bagging) is presented in the Bagging algorithm which improve the prediction performance of ELM in software defect datasets. Experiments are carried out in six groups of software defect datasets. The experimental results show that ISSA-ELM-Bagging ensemble learning algorithm is significantly better than the other four comparison algorithms under the six evaluation indexes of Precision, Recall, F-measure, MCC, Accuracy and G-mean, which has better stability and generalization ability.

Highway roadside verges (HRV) provide supplemental habitat for birds in intensive agricultural and suburban landscapes where the natural habitats are rapidly disappearing. The purpose of this study was to document the behavior of breeding bird species using the vegetation maintenance units (green shoulders, embankments, ditches, and banks) of HRV in 3 typical rural landscapes of southern Quebec, Canada. We observed the behavior of 722 individuals of 21 bird species. The most abundant ones (especially Sturnus vulgaris [European Starling] and Agelaius phoeniceus [Red-winged Blackbird]) foraged in the green shoulders, while others (such as Melospiza melodia [Song Sparrow], Spinus tristis [American Goldfinch], and Geothlypis trichas [Common Yellowthroat]) travelled or nested in the low vegetation in ditches and on the banks. Omnivorous species forage in the green shoulders and used the banks and ditches mainly for nesting-related behaviors, just like the few insectivorous species observed. The granivorous species were almost absent from studied HRV. Ground-foraging species used the shoulders to feed but nested in ditches and banks. Species foraging in low vegetation foraged mainly on the banks and used the ditches more for travelling. Reducing the mowing frequency of these 2 maintenance units would likely result in an increase in the vegetation cover and would thus provide additional nesting and foraging habitat for the species we recorded, 67% of which show a stable or declining population in North America.

Research on control of multi-variable system with strong coupling has been a significant issue in industry. To accurately eliminate the coupling between system variables and improve the control effect, decoupling control techniques are investigated. In this paper, a decoupling control scheme based on fractional-order proportion integration differentiation neural network and sparrow search algorithm (SSA-FPIDNN) is proposed, where sparrow search algorithm is employed to derive the optimal initial weights, preventing the weights from falling into the local optimum, while the fractional-order algorithm is used to correct its connection weights to improve control accuracy. Compared with traditional PIDNN, the proposed SSA-FPIDNN has better decoupling control performance, and the tracking time can be reduced significantly. Numerical simulation and engineering examples verified its effectiveness.

Grassland bird responses to grazing and prescribed fire are species-specific and are primarily known from systems with cattle as the predominant grazer. There is less knowledge of how grazing by bison impacts grassland birds, especially in sites restored and reconstructed from row-crop agriculture. Working at a tallgrass prairie site consisting of restored and remnant prairie in the years following bison reintroduction and ongoing prescribed burning, we assessed overall species richness and the relative detection frequency of five focal species (Grasshopper Sparrow, Henslow's Sparrow, Dickcissel, Eastern Meadowlark, and Brown-headed Cowbird). We used stationary bioacoustics recorders to record the soundscape during the summer breeding season in areas with and without bison from 2016 to 2018. Species richness and the detection frequencies of our focal species were not influenced by bison disturbance. Grasshopper Sparrow and Dickcissel detection frequency increased slightly in response to prescribed fire, whereas Henslow's Sparrow detection frequency decreased. Time since sites were restored was a predominant factor that influenced the variation in detection frequency of Henslow's Sparrows and Eastern Meadowlarks, likely due to vegetation differences in restored versus remnant sites and each species' vegetation structure preferences. Brown-headed Cowbird detection frequency was unaffected by bison presence, prescribed fire, or time since restoration, but varied among sampling years. Our focal species showed no response to bison disturbance 4 y after the bison reintroduction. This suggests there could be a time-lag for a response or that these species will not respond to the bison reintroduction at this study site.

Birds are very valuable indicators of species richness and endemic patterns in a specified ecosystem, which eventually help the scientist to measure the environmental degradation. The aim of present study was to know human knowledge and attitude toward urban birds in Faisalabad city, Pakistan. The study conducted in four consecutive months: November 2019 to February 2020. Population of birds was noted from eight residential towns of Faisalabad city, data were collected through questionnaire. Faisalabad has a reasonably large population of birds and present data show that, there is a significant difference between favorite bird of residential areas and institutions. The pigeon received the most likeness in bird population among residential area residents, while the myna received the least. The most popular bird in Faisalabad institutions was the sparrow, while the least popular bird was the common myna. Bird adaptation percentage of residential areas and institutional areas of Faisalabad was the highest for parrot and sparrow respectively. People in residential areas and institutions, on the other hand, adapted least to common myna. It is concluded that people of the study area like birds and offered food and high population of birds are present in study area. Resumo Os pássaros são indicadores muito valiosos da riqueza de espécies e padrões endêmicos em um determinado ecossistema, o que acaba ajudando o cientista a medir a degradação ambiental. O objetivo do presente estudo foi conhecer o conhecimento humano e a atitude em relação às aves urbanas na cidade de Faisalabad, Paquistão. O estudo foi conduzido em quatro meses consecutivos: novembro de 2019 a fevereiro de 2020. A população de pássaros foi observada em oito cidades residenciais da cidade de Faisalabad, os dados foram coletados por meio de questionário. Faisalabad tem uma população razoavelmente grande de pássaros, e os dados atuais mostram que há uma diferença significativa entre as aves favoritas de áreas residenciais e instituições. O pombo recebeu mais semelhanças na população de pássaros entre os residentes de áreas residenciais, enquanto o myna recebeu menos. A ave mais popular nas instituições de Faisalabad era o pardal, enquanto a ave menos popular era o myna comum. A porcentagem de adaptação de pássaros em áreas residenciais e institucionais de Faisalabad foi a mais alta para papagaios e pardais, respectivamente. As pessoas em áreas residenciais e instituições, por outro lado, se adaptaram menos ao myna comum. Conclui-se que pessoas da área de estudo como pássaros e alimentos oferecidos e alta população de pássaros estão presentes na área de estudo.

Environmental lead contamination negatively impacts human, animal, and ecosystem health, yet there is a lack of research in this area that incorporates a One Health framework – examining co-exposures among species through their shared environment. The purpose of this study was to integrate human and animal data with public soil lead levels to better understand lead exposure patterns across species in an urban US city. Over 200 soil samples were collected, analyzed for lead, and mapped in combination with other risk factors pulled from the literature to identify areas of highest risk. Human socio-demographic data, dog, and house sparrow density data were mapped to investigate the association between these variables and soil lead levels. Geospatial analysis software was used to visualize the geospatial distribution of soil lead levels and known risk factors for environmental lead contamination, and a block group risk score was calculated and mapped. Associations between human and animal-associated variables and soil lead levels and block risk scores were assessed using Spearman's correlations. Positive, statistically significant associations were found between soil lead levels and higher population density, higher education levels, and higher median household income. Areas with higher soil lead levels and lead exposure risk scores were associated with greater dog density and greater house sparrow density. This study fills an important knowledge gap on the risk of environmental lead exposure to humans, domestic animals, and wildlife., Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image, Highlights • Environmental lead similarly threatens human, domestic and wild urban inhabitants. • Environmental lead exposure is a prime field for One Health assessment. • There is a need to expand our understanding of ecosystem health threats. • Public soil lead levels sometimes exceeded state and federal thresholds for healthy soil. • Soil as an exposure source for humans and animals is underassessed.

Summary A new white-throated sparrow song has overtaken most of Canada in less than 20 years. The explanation for this remarkably fast spread may lie in the southern migratory grounds, where populations from across Canada converge each winter.

As urbanization expands globally, the communication systems of an increasing number of species are affected. Because bird song is a long-distance signal used to attract mates and defend territories, the evolution of bird song is often shaped by habitat structure and background noise. These potential drivers of song evolution are more often studied in natural areas than in urbanized areas, leaving open the question of how anthropogenic changes to the landscape are affecting the evolution of bird song. One songbird that persists in both urbanized and rural areas in North America is the White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys). Our previous work demonstrates that increased background noise in cities and in natural habitats affects acoustic adaptation in this species. However, we lack information about how sound transmits in urban and rural habitats. Because cities tend to have different physical properties than rural areas, it is pertinent to understand the influence of urban habitat structure on song evolutionary processes. Here, we test the acoustic adaptation theory and hypothesize that differences in the sound transmission properties of urban and rural habitats affect song divergence between urban and rural populations. We conducted sound transmission trials of tones from 1 to 8 kHz on 59 White-crowned Sparrow territories in three urban and three rural locations around San Francisco and Point Reyes, California, at varying heights and rates of note production. We also recorded and analyzed songs of males from each location to see if differences in signal–noise ratio, attenuation, reverberation, and distortion predicted song divergence. We found that urban locations have higher attenuation and reverberation than rural locations and urban songs tend to have short whistles, faster trills, and narrower bandwidth. These findings partially support acoustic adaptation theory, though faster trills in the city may instead be driven by cultural drift or sexual selection. Overall, our results add to a rapidly growing area of research and allow us to better understand the complexity of influences on song divergence.

Geographical variation has been widely studied in oscine songbirds, with particular attention paid to the interplay between variables associated with learned song and dispersal. While most field-based studies have focused on discrete dialects, analysing data from quickly growing citizen science libraries could uncover geographical patterns in species previously thought to exhibit random variation in song. Specifically, using citizen science birdsong databases, we test whether chipping sparrow, Spizella passerina, song is geographically structured on a continental scale. The chipping sparrow is a particularly well-suited species for this study, since individuals have a simple song of one repeated syllable, have only the beginning of their first breeding season to adjust their song before crystallization and have been shown to match their song to a nearby neighbour while establishing their first territory. If most chipping sparrows adopt a neighbour-matching strategy, we might expect local syllable similarity; in contrast, field studies have shown that local syllable diversity has been maintained over time. We analyse 820 individual recordings of the simple, yet diverse, song of chipping sparrows to assess whether long-range geographical patterns have formed despite this local song variation. We found significant correlations between song features and geographical distance, associated with longitude but not latitude: chipping sparrows in the eastern United States and Canada sing at a slower rate (fewer, longer syllables) than the western population. However, comparing individual syllable types between regions, we found diverse song types persist across this species’ range. To better contextualize our findings, we re-evaluate available genetic sequences of chipping sparrows to test for genetic differentiation between the eastern and western populations in which we found song differences. Our results suggest that there are two culturally distinct subpopulations of migratory chipping sparrows that are genetically indistinguishable using mitochondrial DNA, motivating future studies on migration patterns and additional sequencing of nuclear DNA.

Green–blue space loss and fragmentation are particularly acute in Chinese cities due to rapid urbanization, large ring-road system and the following city compartments. Therefore, connecting urban green–blue spaces has been recently advocated by central government. This paper revised and applied the recently developed urban green network approach to the case of Xi’an city, China, a city which has been rarely studied before from this perspective. The focus was on connecting fragments of urban green–blue spaces to compact green–blue networks, integrating both social and ecological functions into a fully functioning entity. Landscape metric analysis was added to identify that the main city outside the city core should be a planning priority zone. The Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus), Asiatic toad (Bufo gargarizans) and humans at leisure were selected as three focal species to meet the emerged socio-ecological benefits. Sociotope and biotope maps were drawn up to identify patches with high human recreation and wildlife shelter values and providing crucial network structures. Least-cost-path model was used for identifying potential linkages between patches. This model was based on network structures and cost surface, which measures the theoretical energy cost of travelling between landscape elements. By integrating the potential paths for the selected organisms with density analysis, the updated framework generated three improvement maps for species indicators, and 10 network corridors for establishing green–blue networks at city scale. At neighbourhood scale, one site with habitat and linkage examples illustrated specific measures that could be taken in local practice.

Mercury is a persistent, biomagnifying contaminant that can cause negative behavioral, immunological, and reproductive effects in wildlife and human populations. We examined the role of wetland water-management on mercury bioaccumulation in songbirds and ducks at Kellys Slough National Wildlife Refuge Complex, near Grand Forks, North Dakota USA. We assessed mercury concentrations in blood of wetland-foraging songbirds (80 common yellowthroats [Geothlypis trichas] and 14 Nelson's sparrows [Ammospiza nelsoni]) and eggs of upland-nesting ducks (28 gadwall [Mareca strepera], 19 blue-winged teal [Spatula discors], and 13 northern shoveler [S. clypeta]) across four wetland water-management classifications. Nelson's sparrow blood mercury concentrations were elevated (mean: 1.00 µg/g ww; 95% CL: 0.76-1.31) and similar to those reported 6 years previously. Mercury in songbird blood and duck eggs varied among wetland water-management classifications. Songbirds and ducks had 67% and 49% lower mercury concentrations, respectively, when occupying wetlands that were drawn down with water flow compared to individuals occupying isolated-depressional wetlands with no outflow. Additionally, songbirds within impounded and partially drawn-down wetland units with water flow had mercury concentrations that were 26-28% lower, respectively, than individuals within isolated-depressional wetlands with no outflow. Our results confirm that mercury concentrations in songbirds at Kellys Slough continue to be elevated and suggest that water-management could be an important tool for wetland managers to reduce bioaccumulation of mercury in birds.

Hooligan Sparrow (2016) serves as a first-person account of the director Nanfu Wang's struggle to produce a film deemed politically sensitive in mainland China, including her encounters wit...

In this paper, a novel swarm optimization approach, namely sparrow search algorithm (SSA), is proposed inspired by the group wisdom, foraging and anti-predation behaviours of sparrows. Experiments on 19 benchmark functions are conducted to test the performance of the SSA and its performance is compared with other algorithms such as grey wolf optimizer (GWO), gravitational search algorithm (GSA), and particle swarm optimization (PSO). Simulation results show that the proposed SSA is superior over GWO, PSO and GSA in terms of accuracy, convergence speed, stability and robustness. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed SSA is demonstrated in two practical engineering examples.

The current study was carried out in 2016 and 2017 in eight cereal farms in Ouargla, in the north of Algerian Sahara. The damage caused by hybrid sparrows on cereals (barley and wheat) showed that the loss due to individuals of (Passer domesticus x P hispaniolensis)on cereal plots varies between the visited farms and fluctuates between 0.28% (0.22 qls / ha) and 15.6% (10.8 qls / ha). In general, the damage caused by the sparrows was found to be more important on the periphery of the plots than in the centersof these plots. A significant relationship was found between the rate of damage and the approach of cereal plots to tree blocks, and the density of ears per sampled square. A good decision on the position of cereal plots within farms seems tobe a priority to avoid sparrow attacks.

Grassland birds have declined throughout North America. In the midwestern United States, reclaimed surface mines often provide expanses of contiguous grassland that support grassland birds. However, some reclaimed surface mines often experience severe woody vegetation encroachment, typically by invasive trees and shrubs, including black locust Robinia pseudoacacia, autumn olive Elaeagnus umbellata, and bush honeysuckle Lonicera spp. We conducted point-count surveys to investigate the effects of woody canopy cover and response to treatments of woody vegetation on the abundance of birds. Our treatments were a control, an herbicide application, and an herbicide application followed by cutting and shredding of standing dead woody vegetation. Estimated density of eastern meadowlark Sturnella magna, grasshopper sparrow Ammodramus savannarum, and Henslow's sparrow Centronyx henslowii was 670%, 958%, and 200%, respectively, greater on areas treated with herbicide and shredding and 279%, 666%, and 155%, respectively, greater on areas treated with herbicide-only when compared with control sites. When woody canopy cover increased from 0% to 20%, densities of eastern meadowlark, grasshopper sparrow, and Henslow's sparrow decreased by 83.9%, 74.9%, and 50.7%, respectively. Conversely, densities of eastern towhee Pipilo erythrophthalmus, prairie warbler Setophaga discolor, yellow-breasted chat Icteria virens, and yellow warbler Setophaga petechia increased 67.4%, 57.0%, 34.6%, and 117.7%, respectively, as estimated woody canopy coverage increased from 20% to 60%. Our results showed treating encroaching woody vegetation on reclaimed surface mines with herbicide and shredding increases available habitat used by grassland birds. Maintaining grasslands on reclaimed surface mines at ≤10% woody canopy coverage would be most beneficial to eastern meadowlarks, grasshopper sparrows, and Henslow's sparrows.

The role of species divergence due to ecologically based divergent selection—or ecological speciation—in generating and maintaining biodiversity is a central question in evolutionary biology. Comparison of the genomes of phylogenetically related taxa spanning a selective habitat gradient enables discovery of divergent signatures of selection and thereby provides valuable insight into the role of divergent ecological selection in speciation. Tidal marsh ecosystems provide tractable opportunities for studying organisms' adaptations to selective pressures that underlie ecological divergence. Sharp environmental gradients across the saline–freshwater ecotone within tidal marshes present extreme adaptive challenges to terrestrial vertebrates. Here, we sequence 20 whole genomes of two avian sister species endemic to tidal marshes—the saltmarsh sparrow (Ammospiza caudacutus) and Nelson's sparrow (A. nelsoni)—to evaluate the influence of selective and demographic processes in shaping genome‐wide patterns of divergence. Genome‐wide divergence between these two recently diverged sister species was notably high (genome‐wide F ST = 0.32). Against a background of high genome‐wide divergence, regions of elevated divergence were widespread throughout the genome, as opposed to focused within islands of differentiation. These patterns may be the result of genetic drift resulting from past tidal march colonization events in conjunction with divergent selection to different environments. We identified several candidate genes that exhibited elevated divergence between saltmarsh and Nelson's sparrows, including genes linked to osmotic regulation, circadian rhythm, and plumage melanism—all putative candidates linked to adaptation to tidal marsh environments. These findings provide new insights into the roles of divergent selection and genetic drift in generating and maintaining biodiversity., Whole‐genome comparisons of two congeneric sparrows with different levels of specialization to tidal marsh environments revealed that both genetic drift and divergent ecological selection influenced the speciation process. Against a background of high genome‐wide divergence brought about by drift, regions of elevated divergence were widespread throughout the genome. These regions contained genes relating to tidal marsh adaptations, including those putatively functioning in osmotic regulation, circadian rhythm, and plumage melanism, and suggests a role for ecological speciation in the divergence of the saltmarsh and Nelson's sparrow.

Artificial intelligence and normative ethics: Who is responsible for the crime of LAWS? In his text “Killer Robots”, Robert Sparrow holds that killer robots should be forbidden. This conclusion is based on two premises. The first is that attributive responsibility is a necessary condition for admitting an action; the second premise is that the use of killer robots is accompanied by a responsibility gap. Although there are good reasons to conclude that killer robots should be banned, the article shows that Sparrow's argument for the ban is not correct.

Large baobabs are regarded as key plant species in the savannah biome. In this study their role in shaping the avian community has been evaluated. The territory mapping method has been employed to quantify the avian breeding community in the town Outapi (ca. 130 ha), Northern Namibia, well-endowed with large baobabs. A total of 29 breeding bird species were recorded. The alien House Sparrow was by far the most numerous species comprising 48.4% of all breeding birds. The Blue Waxbill and African Palm Swift were also classified as dominant species, comprising together 17.4%. Granivores were by far the most numerous feeding guild, comprising 77.2% of all birds breeding, while the insectivores comprised only 11.8%. Birds nesting in/on buildings comprised 52.7%, those nesting on trees/shrubs – 42.0%. The population densities of many bird species (e.g. doves from the genus Stepropelia, bulbuls, weavers) were comparatively low. Such a situation could have been caused by the exceptionally high population density of the Pied Crow. In the study area, there were 15 breeding pairs and about 100–150 non-breeding individuals. The baobabs may provide them with a feeding resource in the form of the sweet fruits. The crows, as nest predators, feed also on the eggs and nestlings of other birds. Doves seem to be especially prone to such predation, as their nests are easily to detect and destroy. As a result, they have to breed in low density. This in turn, may release other dominant granivores in the study area, namely sparrows. They are not vulnerable to crow nest predation, as their nests are usually well-concealed under eaves and in holes of buildings.

The effect of malathion (organophosphate insecticide) on individuals of the house sparrow ( Passer domesticus ) caught in an agricultural area of the municipality of Durango, Mexico, was estimated. Butyrylcholinesterase is inhibited by organophosphorus insecticides, therefore, its previous and subsequent activity to the consumption of food treated with malathion was determined in 19 organisms by spectrophotometry. The results show a decrease in BChE activity (11.58 %) after treatment (p = 0.03). The possible relationship between the weight of the birds and BChE activity before and after exposure to the organophosphorus insecticide was explored but no correlation was found between these two variables (Pearson, r = 0.114), so it was decided not to use the variable weight as a covariate in the analyses to compare the enzymatic activity of the birds. The weight of the birds decreased on average 1.54 g after the exposure, possibly due to the stress of capture and the lack of adaptation to captivity. It is possible that the house sparrow and other birds that co-inhabit the agricultural areas where malathion is applied, as well as other organophosphorus insecticides, are prone to develop different levels of intoxication and that in some cases their health condition is compromised.

Environmental metal pollution is known to adversely affect bird reproduction, for which the variations of egg characteristics are considered very important. Our study explored whether variations in egg characteristics, such as egg volume, eggshell spotting pattern, eggshell coloration, and eggshell thickness, were correlated with heavy metal levels (Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd) and Ca levels in the eggshells of tree sparrows (Passer montanus), a widespread passerine species. Eggs were collected from a long-term heavy metal polluted area (Baiyin, BY, northwest China) and a relatively unpolluted area (Liujiaxia, LJX, northwest China). Our results showed that the embryonated (eggshell: Cu: p = 0.003, Pb: p = 0.002) and non-embryonated (egg contents: Pb: p = 0.044, Ca: p = 0.045) eggs collected from BY contained relatively higher metal concentrations than those from LJX. Eggs from BY were smaller in volume (p

Niche differentiation is a key concept in the field of ecology and refers to the process by which competing species within an ecological community partition utilization of environmental resources to achieve coexistence. The existence of niche differentiation is uniquely difficult to prove on account of the fact that historical interaction among species, which plays a key role in elucidating the current state of coexistence among species, is not well known. We created continuous niche gradients in nest‐site resources between two sympatric secondary cavity‐nesting birds, the green‐backed tit (Parus monticolus) and the russet sparrow (Passer cinnamomeus), and investigated whether nesting site is a factor contributing to limiting breeding overlap by regular inspection and 388,160 min of film recording. Our results indicate that although we manipulated nest site availability to be uniformly high along the habitat gradient, the two bird species have little overlap in nest sites and rarely compete for them. Furthermore, the green‐backed tit possessed a wide range of fundamental niche that covered that of the russet sparrow, while their reproductive time was largely segregated. The sparrow was more aggressive and outcompeted the tit in their overlapped range. These results suggest that even though nesting sites are crucial to the reproduction of cavity‐nesting birds, some other factor plays a more important role in limiting niche overlap between sparrows and tits in space and time. Given that these two cavity‐nesting birds continued to use different habitats and breed in segregated time after our manipulation, their relationship is better explained by the ghost of competition past theory., To understand the process of niche differentiation, we created conditions for the overlapping formation of nest‐site resources between two cavity‐nesting birds. Their nest site selection is naturally partitioning, but after our manipulation, unequal competition was detected with one species outcompeting the other. The detected pattern of competition supports the ghost of competition present theory.

West Nile virus (WNV) was first identified in North America almost 20 yr ago. In that time, WNV has crossed the continent and established enzootic transmission cycles, resulting in intermittent outbreaks of human disease that have largely been linked with climatic variables and waning avian seroprevalence. During the transcontinental dissemination of WNV, the original genotype has been displaced by two principal extant genotypes which contain an envelope mutation that has been associated with enhanced vector competence by Culex pipiens L. (Diptera: Culicidae) and Culex tarsalis Coquillett vectors. Analyses of retrospective avian host competence data generated using the founding NY99 genotype strain have demonstrated a steady reduction in viremias of house sparrows over time. Reciprocally, the current genotype strains WN02 and SW03 have demonstrated an inverse correlation between house sparrow viremia magnitude and the time since isolation. These data collectively indicate that WNV has evolved for increased avian viremia while house sparrows have evolved resistance to the virus such that the relative host competence has remained constant. Intrahost analyses of WNV evolution demonstrate that selection pressures are avian species-specific and purifying selection is greater in individual birds compared with individual mosquitoes, suggesting that the avian adaptive and/or innate immune response may impose a selection pressure on WNV. Phylogenomic, experimental evolutionary systems, and models that link viral evolution with climate, host, and vector competence studies will be needed to identify the relative effect of different selective and stochastic mechanisms on viral phenotypes and the capacity of newly evolved WNV genotypes for transmission in continuously changing landscapes.