| WHERE HAVE ALL THE SPARROWS GONE?
Work to boost numbers Here
The serious decline in the numbers of House Sparrows has been attributed to the lack of
aphids available in urban areas in the breeding season. For three days after hatching,
sparrow chicks need to be fed insect protein, rather than seeds. Sparrow chicks appear to
be dying of malnutrition in their nests. The shortage of aphids has been blamed on various
factors, including the use of garden pesticides and effluents from unleaded petrol. The
humble sparrow may therefore represent the miner’s canary, indicating sources of
pollution.
DMU's faculty of Applied Sciences collaborated with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and
English Nature with research into the ecology of the urban House Sparrow. It involved
a three-year PhD studentship for Kate Vincent (who graduated with a First in
Applied Biology) supported by a substantial external resource input from the RSPB and
English Nature (about £15,000). The work started by fixing some 300 nest
boxes at various locations throughout Leicester, so that the growth of chicks could be monitored
throughout the breeding season.
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