{"id":654,"date":"2019-01-29T12:05:06","date_gmt":"2019-01-29T12:05:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/horizon.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=654"},"modified":"2019-01-29T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2019-01-29T12:05:06","slug":"bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/654\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Bird immune systems reveal harshness of city life"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

They may peck greedily at feeding tables – and have it easier than country birds do in the warmer urban winters – but city birds, it turns out, are in turmoil on the inside.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

Researchers have found that many internal defence mechanisms that are quiet in rural birds are much more active in those in cities. These biological pathways are pumping out extra antioxidants, immune system cells and detoxifiers \u2013 a sign that urban life is challenging their health.<\/p>\n

Globally, bird numbers are dropping. According to figures published by conservation organisation\u00a0BirdLife International<\/a>\u00a0last year, 40% of bird\u00a0species have declining populations while 7% are increasing in number. BirdLife cites urbanisation as a force destructive to many bird species, but a few do well in cities, such as the adaptable\u00a0great tit<\/a>, whose population is on the rise.<\/p>\n

City wildlife have a different experience of predators, food availability and diseases than those in the country. This may be helpful to them \u2013 for example, humans leave food out for birds in their gardens. But they also have to cope with a fragmented habitat and with noise, air and light pollution. Scientists want to understand these forces in order to get a better grasp of the dramatic drop in some bird populations.<\/p>\n

A research group in Sweden has been studying great tits living in 500 nestboxes in the city of Malm\u00f6, and a similar number in the forest. Great tits were chosen partly because they are well-studied and also because their use of nestboxes makes it easy for researchers to locate and examine them. The researchers check the boxes weekly during spring, weighing chicks with tiny balances, measuring them with adapted rulers, and tapping them for blood, according to Dr Hannah Watson, an ecologist at Lund University in Sweden.<\/p>\n

An early study revealed that the urban birds had higher levels of antioxidants circulating in their blood than rural birds \u2013 a defence mechanism against attack from free radicals – toxic versions of oxygen atoms.<\/p>\n

\u2018Exposure to air pollution would generate more free radicals (in the body) which can then increase what\u2019s called oxidative stress \u2013 a kind of cellular level stress,\u2019 said Dr Watson. \u2018The free radicals cause damage to DNA, lipids, proteins \u2013 all the macromolecules in the cell.\u2019<\/p>\n

Switched on<\/strong><\/p>\n

To explore the consequences in more detail, she compared RNA (a counterpart to DNA) samples between the two populations, in a project called\u00a0URBAN EPIGENETICS<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While genes code for the structure and maintenance of a living thing, they only function if they are switched on \u2013 or expressed. This happens via a bit of chemistry, methylation, which can be triggered by environmental factors.<\/p>\n

Dr Watson found that genes responsible for the city birds\u2019 immune responses had been upregulated, implying that they were fighting off more infections than rural birds. Similarly, other genes, such as those for neutralising poisons, for inflammation and for antioxidant production to combat free radicals, were also switched on.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\u2018It\u2019s only the birds of really good quality that are able to actually survive the nestling period in the city.\u2019<\/p>\n

Dr Hannah Watson, Lund University, Sweden<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018We showed big differences in terms of the genes that are expressed and the levels they are expressed at,\u2019 she said. \u2018We interpret this as being consistent with our prediction that birds living in the city are exposed to more of these environmental stressors.\u2019<\/p>\n

But this doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that urban birds are suffering, says Dr Watson. \u2018It could just indicate that they\u2019re able to respond and cope.\u2019<\/p>\n

To understand whether the birds were taking urban stress in their stride, Dr Watson joined a study led by one of her colleagues in which they measured the caps \u2013 telomeres \u2013 at the ends of the birds\u2019 chromosomes.<\/p>\n

Over the last decade, scientists have shown that telomeres gradually shorten each time a cell divides, and also in response to other stressors, eventually reaching a stage of senescence, or deterioration, which corresponds to an organism\u2019s old age and death. In fact, the length of a creature\u2019s telomeres, it turns out, seems to foretell its lifespan. The team conjectured that, if the urban stresses were actually affecting the great tits\u2019 ability to survive, this would be revealed in the lengths of their telomeres.<\/p>\n

They found that city chicks that were ready to fledge had on average shorter telomeres than those of fledgling forest chicks.<\/p>\n

Weeded out<\/strong><\/p>\n

Those with the shortest telomeres were less able to cope with urban stresses and died before reaching adulthood. Paradoxically, that meant that adult great tits in the city were likely to be stronger than the average forest adult because the weaker ones had been weeded out.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s only the birds of really good quality that are able to actually survive the nestling period in the city,\u2019 said Dr Watson.\u2019 In fact, the researchers think that while multiple stressors in the city are wiping out younger, weaker birds, they may not be of much consequence during adult life for those tough enough to make it that far.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Great
Great tits living in urban areas fight off more infections than their rural cousins. Image Credit – CC BY-SA 4.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Urban living may also mean that the social structures that served a species well in the natural habitat have become no longer necessary or even harmful.<\/p>\n

House sparrows in the wild, for example, compete with each other for food according to a dominance hierarchy that is determined largely by size. But in cities, there are two key differences \u2013 food is more abundant and house sparrows are smaller, possibly because they don\u2019t need to store body fat since winters are milder. Either factor could undermine the way they normally compete for food.<\/p>\n

Likewise, house sparrows are known for the way they cooperate to mob potential predators. But when the danger shifts from a bird of prey to a cat or dog, this behaviour could become redundant.<\/p>\n

With their numbers in decline, but still strong at as many as 1.3 billion globally, their\u00a0toughness<\/a>, aggression and ability to survive around humans suggests they seem to do well in urban areas.<\/p>\n

Dr Lyanne Brouwer, an animal ecologist at Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands, is studying house sparrows in a variety of urban habitats as they engage in their cooperative and competitive\u00a0behaviours in a project called\u00a0UrbanBird<\/a>, which runs until 2020. She is using observations gathered by ordinary people, as well as her own field work to understand the causes and longterm effects of any\u00a0behavioural\u00a0change in the way house sparrows interact with each other. Ultimately this could help\u00a0predict how\u00a0urbanisation\u00a0could affect other species and biodiversity.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s really interesting to see that all the factors that could affect social behaviour, like for example food availability or the predators that are around, are all very different in cities – so how would that affect these social behaviours? It turns out there is basically nothing known about how such behaviours change in cities,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

The research in this article was funded by the EU. If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.<\/em><\/p>\n

Originally published on Horizon<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They may peck greedily at feeding tables – and have it easier than country birds do in the warmer urban winters – but city birds, it turns out, are in turmoil on the inside. Researchers have found that many internal defence mechanisms that are quiet in rural birds are much more active in those in … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":316,"featured_media":655,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[4,68,71,79,24],"class_list":["post-654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-earth-energy-environment","tag-environment","tag-evolution","tag-genetics","tag-research","tag-science"],"yoast_head":"\nBird immune systems reveal harshness of city life - Horizon Magazine Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/654\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bird immune systems reveal harshness of city life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"They may peck greedily at feeding tables – and have it easier than country birds do in the warmer urban winters – but city birds, it turns out, are in turmoil on the inside. Researchers have found that many internal defence mechanisms that are quiet in rural birds are much more active in those in ... Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/654\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Horizon Magazine Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-01-29T12:05:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/01\/urbanbird.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"745\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Aisling Irwin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Aisling Irwin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/654\\\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/654\\\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Aisling Irwin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e83541e32d03643ff153c4edd112d573\"},\"headline\":\"Bird immune systems reveal harshness of city life\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-01-29T12:05:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/654\\\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1197,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/654\\\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/urbanbird.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"environment\",\"evolution\",\"genetics\",\"research\",\"science\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Earth, Energy & Environment\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2019\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/654\\\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/654\\\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\\\/\",\"name\":\"Bird immune systems reveal harshness of city life - Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/654\\\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/654\\\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/urbanbird.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-01-29T12:05:06+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/654\\\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/654\\\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/654\\\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/urbanbird.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/urbanbird.jpg\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":745,\"caption\":\"Very little is known about how the social behaviours of house sparrows are changing in urban habitats. Image Credit - Flickr\\\/B Balaji, CC BY-NC 2.0\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/654\\\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Bird immune systems reveal harshness of city life\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\",\"name\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"description\":\"The EU Research & Innovation Magazine\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/eu-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/eu-logo.jpg\",\"width\":601,\"height\":283,\"caption\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e83541e32d03643ff153c4edd112d573\",\"name\":\"Aisling Irwin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3c0f9a126ff416fd189b170e7d82ca3350e022ae3dd403001a11b09cb5de3a4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3c0f9a126ff416fd189b170e7d82ca3350e022ae3dd403001a11b09cb5de3a4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3c0f9a126ff416fd189b170e7d82ca3350e022ae3dd403001a11b09cb5de3a4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Aisling Irwin\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/author\\\/aislingirwin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Bird immune systems reveal harshness of city life - Horizon Magazine Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/654\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Bird immune systems reveal harshness of city life","og_description":"They may peck greedily at feeding tables – and have it easier than country birds do in the warmer urban winters – but city birds, it turns out, are in turmoil on the inside. Researchers have found that many internal defence mechanisms that are quiet in rural birds are much more active in those in ... Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/654\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\/","og_site_name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","article_published_time":"2019-01-29T12:05:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1500,"height":745,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/01\/urbanbird.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Aisling Irwin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Aisling Irwin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/654\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/654\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\/"},"author":{"name":"Aisling Irwin","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/person\/e83541e32d03643ff153c4edd112d573"},"headline":"Bird immune systems reveal harshness of city life","datePublished":"2019-01-29T12:05:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/654\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\/"},"wordCount":1197,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/654\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/01\/urbanbird.jpg","keywords":["environment","evolution","genetics","research","science"],"articleSection":["Earth, Energy & Environment"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2019","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/654\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\/","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/654\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\/","name":"Bird immune systems reveal harshness of city life - Horizon Magazine Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/654\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/654\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/01\/urbanbird.jpg","datePublished":"2019-01-29T12:05:06+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/654\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/654\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/654\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/01\/urbanbird.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/01\/urbanbird.jpg","width":1500,"height":745,"caption":"Very little is known about how the social behaviours of house sparrows are changing in urban habitats. Image Credit - Flickr\/B Balaji, CC BY-NC 2.0"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/654\/bird-immune-systems-reveal-harshness-of-city-life\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Bird immune systems reveal harshness of city life"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#website","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/","name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","description":"The EU Research & Innovation Magazine","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization","name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/04\/eu-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/04\/eu-logo.jpg","width":601,"height":283,"caption":"Horizon Magazine Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/person\/e83541e32d03643ff153c4edd112d573","name":"Aisling Irwin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3c0f9a126ff416fd189b170e7d82ca3350e022ae3dd403001a11b09cb5de3a4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3c0f9a126ff416fd189b170e7d82ca3350e022ae3dd403001a11b09cb5de3a4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3c0f9a126ff416fd189b170e7d82ca3350e022ae3dd403001a11b09cb5de3a4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Aisling Irwin"},"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/author\/aislingirwin\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/01\/urbanbird.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgtNKV-ay","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1742,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1742\/bird-like-robots-could-assist-in-medical-emergencies-and-hunt-down-drones\/","url_meta":{"origin":654,"position":0},"title":"Bird-like robots could assist in medical emergencies and hunt down drones","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"June 1, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"A bird flaps its wings, glides using air currents and then smoothly descends to perch on a pole. But this is not just any bird, it\u2019s a robot bird. And robots like these could in the next decade be used to respond to emergencies or to hunt down drones posing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/DSC00360-edit.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/DSC00360-edit.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/DSC00360-edit.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/DSC00360-edit.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/DSC00360-edit.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2192,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/2192\/how-the-tracking-of-birds-can-help-them-and-us\/","url_meta":{"origin":654,"position":1},"title":"How the tracking of birds can help them \u2013 and us","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"October 27, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Anthony King Scientists track birds with electronic tags and radar to solve flight mysteries. In answering ecological questions, the research findings may also improve infrastructure planning Feathers mark birds as a group, but with feathers come remarkable aerial feats. Bar-tailed godwits can fly 12 000 kilometres non-stop, flapping for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/10\/27-sandhill-crane.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/10\/27-sandhill-crane.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/10\/27-sandhill-crane.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/10\/27-sandhill-crane.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/10\/27-sandhill-crane.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/10\/27-sandhill-crane.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2315,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/2315\/as-bird-flu-surges-in-europe-race-is-on-to-stop-the-spread\/","url_meta":{"origin":654,"position":2},"title":"As bird flu surges in Europe, race is on to stop the spread","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"March 6, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"With tens of millions of poultry culled every year to contain avian influenza, scientists are rushing to find new ways to protect flocks from infection and avert a human pandemic. By\u00a0\u00a0VITTORIA D\u2019ALESSIO Researchers are learning important lessons about how bird flu spreads and the characteristics of the virus in Europe.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/03\/6-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/03\/6-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/03\/6-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/03\/6-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/03\/6-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/03\/6-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1050,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1050\/changing-climate-is-narrowing-options-for-migrating-birds\/","url_meta":{"origin":654,"position":3},"title":"Changing climate is narrowing options for migrating birds","author":"Steve Gillman","date":"November 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Across an entire desert or ocean, migratory birds make some of the most extreme journeys found in nature, but there are still huge gaps in our understanding of how they manage to travel these vast distances and what a changing climate means for their migration patterns. \u2018Some species of migrants\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The volatility of seasons is affecting the breeding patterns of Brent geese, a migratory bird species. Image credit - Flickr\/milo bostock, licensed under CC BY 2.0","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/11\/brentgeese_edit.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/11\/brentgeese_edit.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/11\/brentgeese_edit.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/11\/brentgeese_edit.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/11\/brentgeese_edit.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/11\/brentgeese_edit.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1609,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1609\/in-the-antarctic-a-scientist-recruits-albatrosses-to-pinpoint-illegal-fishing-boats\/","url_meta":{"origin":654,"position":4},"title":"In the Antarctic, a scientist recruits albatrosses to pinpoint illegal fishing boats","author":"Aisling Irwin","date":"February 2, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Albatross expert Dr Henri Weimerskirch, of the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), turned his favourite seabirds into spies two years ago by fixing them up with loggers that could detect the radar of illegal fishing vessels. The information from this project, known as\u00a0OCEAN SENTINEL, has helped governments select\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/02\/HEADER-h-weimerskirch-with-incubating-black-browed-albatross-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/02\/HEADER-h-weimerskirch-with-incubating-black-browed-albatross-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/02\/HEADER-h-weimerskirch-with-incubating-black-browed-albatross-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/02\/HEADER-h-weimerskirch-with-incubating-black-browed-albatross-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/02\/HEADER-h-weimerskirch-with-incubating-black-browed-albatross-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/02\/HEADER-h-weimerskirch-with-incubating-black-browed-albatross-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2018,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/2018\/birdwatchers-of-the-world-unite-and-take-environmental-action\/","url_meta":{"origin":654,"position":5},"title":"Birdwatchers of the world \u2013 unite and take environmental action","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"April 27, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"During the Covid-19 lockdowns, an increase in people taking an interest in birdwatching revealed our deep need to connect with nature and community during stressful times. It demonstrated the link between engagement with the natural world and social activism. \u00a0 In the 18th century, birdwatching (or ornithology) was mostly an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/04\/apr9.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/04\/apr9.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/04\/apr9.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/04\/apr9.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/04\/apr9.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/316"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}