publication . Other literature type . Article . 2005

A taste for novelty in invading house sparrows, Passer domesticus

Name: A taste for novelty in invading house sparrows, Passer domesticus
Keywords: Animal Science and Zoology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, foraging; invasive species; neophobia; range expansion

Lisa Fitzgerald; Lynn B. Martin;

Open Access

Published: 13 Apr 2005

Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)

Summary

Abstract

One of the central questions in invasion biology involves why some introductions succeed and others fail. Although several correlates of invasion success have been identified, patterns alone cannot identify the mechanisms underlying the invasion process. Here, we test the hypothesis that one predictor of invasion success, behavioral flexibility, is different between invading and established populations of the same species of bird. We predicted that neophobia (fear of novelty), a surrogate of behavioral flexibility, would be weaker in an actively invading population (28 years resident; Colon, Republic of Panama) of house sparrows (Passer domesticus) compared to a...

doi: 10.1093/beheco/ari044

Subjects

free text keywords: Animal Science and Zoology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, foraging; invasive species; neophobia; range expansion, Foraging, Ecology, Novelty, Population, education.field_of_study, education, Neophobia, medicine.disease, medicine, Vertebrate, biology.animal, biology, Invasive species, Captivity, Panama

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