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City life is tough for young birds. But if they survive their first year, they are less susceptible to the effects of stress, according to research from Lund University in Sweden.
Life in a city constitutes both a threat and an opportunity for wild animals. Researchers at Lund University have now tackled this contradictory state in urban environments. They studied young and adult great tits in Malmö, Sweden, and compared their survival rates with the same bird species in rural areas.
What emerged was that great tits in the urban environment live in a bit of a paradox. On the one hand, it is considerably tougher for birds to reach maturity in a city. On the other hand, if they do survive their first year, the negative effects decrease and the birds seem to be hardier.
“It seems that the various stress factors in the city do not affect the survival of adult individuals in the same way as they affect that of young birds”, says Pablo Salmón, who is a research student in biology at Lund University.
Continue reading at Lund University
Photo Credit: Pablo Salmón
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