Numbers of invasive house sparrows Passer domesticus in a rural landscape of Limpopo province, South Africa

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 population sizes of this species in rural landscapes has been documented. The study on House Sparrows was conducted in three areas in a rural landscape of Limpopo province, South Africa where it is an invasive, to 1) determine population numbers of the House Sparrow between the years 2014 and 2016, and 2) investigate the interaction between the number of House Sparrows and the number of their active nests. The House Sparrow population numbers showed no significant differences between 2014, 2015 and 2016. The House Sparrow numbers were influenced by the number of active nests in 2014 and 2016. The current study showed that the presence of House Sparrows was not affected by the house type they roosted in, and the number of active nests was not influenced by the house types available in each area. The results also showed that the House Sparrow occurs across a rural landscape with variation in numbers across seasons. The evidence reported provides significant insight into how invasive House Sparrows are well established in rural landscapes around human habitation, and it is recommended that this should be incorporated into the management of such alien invasive birds.Le Moineau Domestique Passer domesticus est considéré comme l’une des espèces aviaires communes à caractère invasif la plus répandue dans le monde, sa présence étant généralement associée à l’activité humaine. Cependant, la densité de population de cette espèce dans le paysage rural a très peu été documentée. Notre étude relative au Moineau Domestique a été menée dans trois zones rurales de la province de Limpopo, en Afrique du Sud afin de 1) dénombrer la population de Moineaux Domestiques entre 2014 et 2016 et 2) d’étudier les interactions entre le nombre de Moineaux Domestiques et le nombre de leurs nids actifs. Il n’y a pas de différence significative entre la population de Moineaux Domestiques en 2014, 2015 et 2016. Le nombre de Moineaux Domestiques a été influencé par le nombre de nids actifs en 2014 et 2016. Nous estimons que la présence des Moineaux Domestiques n’est pas liée au type d’habitation dans laquelle ils s’abritent et que le nombre de nids actifs n’est pas influencé par le type d’habitation présent dans chaque zone. Nos résultats montrent que le nombre de Moineaux Domestiques présents dans un paysage rural varie en fonction des saisons. L’étude menée prouve de manière significative que l’espèce invasive des Moineaux Domestiques est bien établie dans le paysage rural, à proximité des habitations humaines. Il est recommandé d’intégrer cela dans le management de cette espèce exotique invasive aviaire.The National Research Foundation (ZA) and the University of KwaZulu-Natal (ZA).http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tost202021-08-25hj2021Zoology and Entomolog

Numbers of invasive House Sparrows Passer domesticus in a rural landscape of Limpopo province, South Africa

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 population sizes of this species in rural landscapes has been documented. The study on House Sparrows was conducted in three areas in a rural landscape of Limpopo province, South Africa where it is an invasive, to 1) determine population numbers of the House Sparrow between the years 2014 and 2016, and 2) investigate the interaction between the number of House Sparrows and the number of their active nests. The House Sparrow population numbers showed no significant differences between 2014, 2015 and 2016. The House Sparrow numbers were influenced by the number of active nests in 2014 and 2016. The current study showed that the presence of House Sparrows was not affected by the house type they roosted in, and the number of active nests was not influenced by the house types available in each area. The results also showed that the House Sparrow occurs across a rural landscape with variation in numbers across seasons. The evidence reported provides significant insight into how invasive House Sparrows are well established in rural landscapes around human habitation, and it is recommended that this should be incorporated into the management of such alien invasive birds. Keywords: alien invasive, house type bird species, management, seasonal variatio

High microhabitat heterogeneity drives high functional traits in forest birds in five protected forest areas in the urban mosaic of Durban, South Africa

Anthropogenic forest disturbance poses a significant threat to the persistence of wildlife. Generally, disturbance of forest environments alters vegetation structure, affecting specialised niche-dependent avian species. We investigated the influence of a comprehensive suite of vegetation structures on the taxonomic and functional diversity of avian forest species in five protected forest areas in the urban mosaic of eThekwini Municipality, Durban, South Africa during the austral breeding season of 2016. We conducted 135 fixed-radius point-count surveys between the vegetation classes of Indigenous Forest (IF) and Coastal Thicket/Dense Bush (TDB; a secondary wooded-habitat that represents regenerating Indigenous Forest), and recorded microhabitat structure covariates at each survey site. We conducted RLQ analyses to examine the association between avian functional traits and microhabitat structures present at each survey site. There was no significant difference in vegetation structure nor species richness between IF and TDB. Species with specialised ecological niches (e.g. large-bodied frugivores; small-bodied insectivores, cavity-nesters) were present in both IF and TDB, indicating that TDB in Durban represents an advanced stage of forest regeneration. We highlight the importance of both IF and TDB for providing critical habitat for both avian generalised and specialised functional traits in the forest patches in the urban mosaic. Crucially, we show that forested areas under conservation management in urbanised areas successfully provide species with a wide variety of functional traits critical to ecosystem functioning and human health. Keywords: Avian forest specialists, Avian functional traits, Ecosystem services, Forest structural complexity, Regenerating forest, RLQ analysi