Abstract
Many animals have adapted to the proximity of humans and thereby gained an advantage in a world increasingly affected by human activity. Numerous organisms have invaded novel areas and thereby increased their range. Here, we hypothesize that an ability to thrive in urban habitats is a key innovation that facilitates successful establishment and invasion. We test this hypothesis by relating the probability of establishment by birds on oceanic islands to the difference in breeding population density between urban and nearby rural habitats as a measure of urbanization in the ancestral range. This measure was the single-most important predictor of establishment success and the only statistically significant one, with additional effects of sexual dichromatism, number of releases and release effort, showing that the ability to cope with human proximity is a central component of successful establishment. Because most invasions occur as a consequence of human-assisted establishment, the ability to cope with human proximity will often be of central importance for successful establishment.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alcaraz C, Vila-Gispert A, García-Berthou E (2005) Profiling invasive fish species: the importance of phylogeny and human use. Divers Distrib 11:289–298
Aronson MFJ, La Sorte FA, Nilon CH, Katti M, Goddard MA, Lepczyk CA, Warren PS, Williams NSG, Silliers S, Clarkson B, Dobbs C, Dolan R, Hedblom M, Klotz S, Kooijmans JL, Kühn I, MacGregor-Fors I, McDonnell M, Mörtberg U, Pysek P, Siebert S, Sushinsky J, Werner P, Winter M (2014) A global analysis of the impacts of urbanization on bird and plant diversity reveals key anthropogenic drivers. Proc R Soc B Biol Sci 281:20133330
Blackburn TM, Duncan RP (2001) Determinants of establishment success in introduced birds. Nature 414:195–197
Blackburn TM, Lockwood JL, Cassey PB (2009) Avian invasions: the ecology and evolution of exotic birds. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Blackburn TM, Monroe MJ, Lawson B, Cassey P, Ewen JG (2013) Body size changes in passerine birds introduced to New Zealand from the UK. Neobiota 18:1–18
Bonier F (2012) Hormones in the city: endocrine ecology of urban birds. Hormones Behav 61:763–772
Cassey P (2002) Life history and ecology influences establishment success of introduced land birds. Biol J Linn Soc 76:465–480
Cassey P, Blackburn T, Russell GJ, Jones KE, Lockwood JL (2004) Influences on the transport and establishment of exotic bird species: an analysis of the parrots (Psittaciformes) of the world. Glob Change Biol 10:417–426
Clutton-Brock J (1987) A natural history of domesticated mammals. University of Texas Press, Austin
Cooper WE Jr, Blumstein DT (eds) (2015) Esca** from predators: an integrative view of escape decisions and refuge use. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Cooper WE Jr, Pyron RA, Garland T Jr (2014) Island tameness: living on islands reduces flight initiation distance. Proc R Soc B Biol Sci 281:20133019
Cramp S, Perrins CM (eds) (1977–1994) The birds of the western Palearctic, vols 1–9. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Darwin C (1868) The variation of animals and plants under domestication. John Murray, London
Davis MA (2009) Invasion biology. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Díaz M, Møller AP, Flensted-Jensen E, Grim T, Ibáñez-Álamo JD, Jokimäki J, Markó G, Tryjanowski P (2013) The geography of fear: a latitudinal gradient in anti-predator escape distances of birds across Europe. PLoS ONE 8(5):e64634
Drake JM (2003) The paradox of the parasites: implications for biological invasion. Biol Lett 270:S133–S135
Ducatez S, Clavel J, Lefebvre L (2015) Ecological generalism and behavioral innovation in birds: technical intelligence or the simple incorporation of new foods? J Anim Ecol 84:79–89
Duncan RP, Blackburn TM, Sol D (2003) The ecology of bird introductions. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 34:71–98
Evans KL, Hatchwell BJ, Parnell M, Gaston KJ (2010) A conceptual Framework for the colonisation of urban areas: the blackbird Turdus merula as a case study. Biol Rev 85:643–667
Fokidis HB, Deviche P (2011) Plasma corticosterone of city and desert Curve-billed Thrashers, Toxostoma curvirostre, in response to stress-related peptide administration. Comp Biochem Physiol A 159:32–38
Freckleton RP, Harvey PH, Pagel M (2002) Phylogenetic analysis and comparative data: a test and review of evidence. Am Nat 160:712–726
Handwerk D (2008). Half of humanity will live in cities by year’s end. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/03/080313-cities.html. Accessed 28 Jan 2015
Hendry AP, Farrugia TR, Kinnison MT (2008) Human influences on rates of phenotypic change in wild animal populations. Mol Ecol 17:20–29
Jeschcke JM, Strayer DL (2006) Determinants of vertebrate invasion success in Europe and North America. Glob Change Biol 12:1608–1619
Jetz W, Thomas GH, Joy JB, Hartmann K, Mooers AO (2012) The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature 491:444–448
Julliard R, Clavel J, Devictor V, Jiguet F, Couvet D (2006) Spatial segregation of specialists and generalists in bird communities. Ecol Lett 9:1237–1244
Künzl C, Sachser N (1999) The behavioral endocrinology of domestication: a comparison between the domestic guinea pig (Cavia aperea f. porcellus) and its wild ancestor, the cavy (Cavia aperea). Horm Behav 35:28–37
Lancaster LT (2015) Maternal and genetic effects on escape: A prospective review. In: Cooper WE Jr, Blumstein DT (eds) Esca** from predators: An integrative view of escape decisions and refuge use. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 000–000
Lepage O, Overli O, Petersson E, Järvi T, Winberg S (2000) Differential stress co** in wild and domesticated sea trout. Brain Behav Evol 56:259–268
Lipsey MW, Wilson DB (2001) Practical Meta-analysis. Sage, Thousand Oaks. http://www.campbellcollaboration.org/resources/effect_size_input.php. Accessed 28 Jan 2015
Lockwood JL, Moulton MP, Anderson SK (1993) Morphological assortment and the assembly of communities of introduced passeriforms on oceanic islands: Tahiti Versus Oahu. Am Nat 141:398–408
Maddison WP, Maddison DR (2011) Mesquite: a modular system for evolutionary analysis. Version 2.75. http://mesquiteproject.org. Accessed 28 Jan 2015
Maklakov AA, Immler S, Gonzalez-Voyer A, Rönn J, Kolm N (2011) Brains and the city: big-brained passerine birds succeed in urban environments. Biol Lett 7:730–732
Mason G, Burn CC, Ahloy J, Kroshko J, Mcdonald H, Jeschke JM (2013) Plastic animals in cage: behavioural flexibility and responses to captivity. Anim Behav 85:1113–1126
Møller AP (2009) Successful city dwellers: a comparative study of the ecological characteristics of urban birds in the Western Palearctic. Oecologia 159:849–858
Møller AP (2014a) Life history, predation and flight initiation distance in a migratory bird. J Evol Biol 27:1105–1113
Møller AP (2014b) Behavioral and ecological predictors of urbanization. In: Gil D, Brumm H (eds) Avian urban ecology. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 54–68
Møller AP, Cassey P (2004) On the relationship between T-cell mediated immunity in bird species and the establishment success of introduced populations. J Anim Ecol 73:1035–1042
Møller AP, Erritzøe J (2015) Brain size and urbanization in birds. Avian Res (in press)
Møller AP, Garamszegi LZ (2010) Immune defense and invasion. In: Morand S, Krasnov B (eds) The geography of host-parasite interactions. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 205–215
Møller AP, Martín-Vivaldi M, Soler JJ (2004) Parasitism, host immune defence and dispersal. J Evol Biol 17:603–612
Møller AP, Díaz M, Flensted-Jensen E, Grim T, Ibáñez-Álamo JD, Jokimäki J, Mänd R, Marko G, Tryjanowski P (2012) High urban population density of birds reflects their timing of urbanization. Oecologia 170:867–875
Møller AP, Grim T, Ibáñez-Álamo JD, Markó G, Tryjanowski P (2013) Change in flight initiation distance between urban and rural habitats following a cold winter. Behav Ecol 24:1211–1217
Partecke J (2014) Mechanisms of phenotypic responses following colonization of urban areas: From plastic to genetic adaptation. In: Gil D, Brumm H (eds) Avian urban ecology. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 131–142
Partecke J, Schwabl I, Gwinner E (2006) Stress and the city: urbanization and its effects on the stress physiology in European blackbirds. Ecology 87:1945–1952
R Development Core Team (2014) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria
Sætre G-P, Riyahi S, Aliabadian M, Hermansen JS, Hogner S, Olsson U, Gonzalez Rojas MF, Sæther SA, Trier CN, Elgvin TO (2012) Single origin of human commensalism in the house sparrow. J Evol Biol 25:788–796
Sax DF, Gaines SD, Brown JH (2002) Species invasions exceed extinctions on islands worldwide: a comparative study of plants and birds. Am Nat 160:766–783
Sol D, Maspons J, Vall-llosera M, Bartomeus I, García-Peña GE, Piñol J, Freckleton RP (2012) Unraveling the life history of successful invaders. Science 337:580–583
Sol D, González-Lagos C, Moreira D, Maspons J (2013a) Measuring tolerance to urbanization for comparative analyses. Ardeola 60:3–13
Sol D, Lapiedra O, González-Lagos C (2013b) Behavioural adjustments for a life in the city. Anim Behav 85:1101–1112
Sol D, González-Lagos C, Moreira D, Maspons J, Lapiedra O (2014) Urbanisation tolerance and the loss of avian diversity. Ecol Lett 17:942–950
Sorci G, Møller AP, Clobert J (1998) Plumage dichromatism of birds predicts introduction success in New Zealand. J Anim Ecol 67:263–269
Thuiller W, Lavergne S, Roquet C, Boulangeat I, Lafourcade B et al (2011) Consequences of climate change on the tree of life in Europe. Nature 470:531–534
Veltman CJ, Nee S, Crawley MJ (1996) Correlates of introduction success in exotic New Zealand birds. Am Nat 147:542–557
Acknowledgments
J.J. received support from the EU Regional Development Fund via the projects “Rovaniemen kaupunkilintuatlas”.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by Ola Olsson.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Møller, A.P., Díaz, M., Flensted-Jensen, E. et al. Urbanized birds have superior establishment success in novel environments. Oecologia 178, 943–950 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-015-3268-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-015-3268-8