Commonness and ecology, but not bigger brains, predict urban living in birds.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Several life history and ecological variables have been reported to affect the likelihood of species becoming urbanized. Recently, studies have also focused on the role of brain size in explaining ability to adapt to urban environments. In contrast, however, little is known about the effect of colonization pressure from surrounding areas, which may confound conclusions about what makes a species urban. We recorded presence/absence data for birds in 93 urban sites in Oslo (Norway) and compared these with species lists generated from 137 forest and 51 farmland sites surrounding Oslo which may represent source populations for colonization.

Results

We found that the frequency (proportion of sites where present) of a species within the city was strongly and positively

SUBMITTER: Dale S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4412207 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature